CONCOR awaits green signal from B'desh to launch Indo-Bangla container train service

Kolkata: Container Corporation of India Ltd (CONCOR), a Navratna PSU under the Railways Ministry, is awaiting green signal from Bangladesh to launch a container train service between the two countries, according to CONCOR CMD V Kalyana Rama.

Once the container protocol is established, container movement from India to Bangladesh will start happening, Rama said at the 10th Logistics Colloquium organised by CII here today. "We are waiting for a response from Bangladesh," he said.

It may be recalled that in April this year, CONCOR signed an MoU with Container Company of Bangladesh Ltd (CCBL), during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to New Delhi.

According to him, not only will direct movement of containerised cargo by train slash trade costs, it will also make the exercise a lot more organised.

Rama also said that CONCOR is in the process of developing logistics centres in PPP mode across the country which will add 15 million square feet of warehousing and space. These logistic centres will have infrastructure for both industrial and agri goods.

According to him, warehousing remains a major bottleneck in India. While the US, where the population is one fourth of India's, has created warehousing of 4.4 billion square feet, India has managed to set up only a fourth of that. Rama also said that the sector which is the worst sufferer of inefficient logistics is agriculture. A huge amount of farm products go to waste as a result, he observed.

Earlier, K Swamonathan, Director, Services, Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd, underscored the need for overhauling connectivity in order to realise the vast potential of the eastern states which are so strategically located.

Shoummo Acharya, founder and Chairman, eTrans Solutions Pvt Ltd, explained why technology implementation in logistics will bring greater degree of transparency, efficiency improvement and cost reduction.