Central Railside Warehouse Company Ltd (CRWC), a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Department of Food & Public Distribution, is going to have big role in the implementation of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector. The nascent company's managing director Vinod Asthana is very upbeat about the role the undertaking has to play in the coming times.
Speaking to Millennium Post, Asthana said, 'The objective of CRWC is to promote and provide logistics support to trade and reduce the overall total logistics cost by leveraging economies of scale to the advantage of all stakeholders.' However, planning for future, the company doesn't want to be perceived as a mere logistic and warehousing enterprise and is looking forward to diversification.
'Two definite areas have been identified for diversification. Logistics Park is one business segment which CRWC is developing by investing in logistics infrastructure. Development of multi-chamber cold storages to support cold chain operation is another area identified for diversification. Business plans are being put in place for developing these revenue streams,' said Asthana.
Sharing his vision for the logistic park, Asthana said, 'It would be phase wise programme and in the first phase we are identifying land in six states. We are in dialogue with many states but those who seem to be pro-active are Orissa, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. State like Madhya Pradesh is very important because of its strategic location – it’s a major transit point because of its central location. We are trying to identify land in these states and sign MoU with them,' said Ashtnana.
Explaining further he added, 'Strategic location of land is very important for logistics parks. It has to have clear linkage with Railways as well road network. These projects would require huge investments as they have to be truly state-of-the-art. Right now, we are focused on developing terminals. More you develop these terminals, better it would be for Railways also. Next thing we are working on is: development of cold chain. In Dankuni near Kolkata, Railways has given us land where we are developing a multi-chamber cold chain. We are in discussion with National Horticulture Board (NHB) to acquire appropriate technology. Tenders would be floated for this in next two-three months. It will be a 16 chamber warehouse where we have all temperature controlled systems for different categories of commodities.'
Speaking to Millennium Post, Asthana said, 'The objective of CRWC is to promote and provide logistics support to trade and reduce the overall total logistics cost by leveraging economies of scale to the advantage of all stakeholders.' However, planning for future, the company doesn't want to be perceived as a mere logistic and warehousing enterprise and is looking forward to diversification.
'Two definite areas have been identified for diversification. Logistics Park is one business segment which CRWC is developing by investing in logistics infrastructure. Development of multi-chamber cold storages to support cold chain operation is another area identified for diversification. Business plans are being put in place for developing these revenue streams,' said Asthana.
Sharing his vision for the logistic park, Asthana said, 'It would be phase wise programme and in the first phase we are identifying land in six states. We are in dialogue with many states but those who seem to be pro-active are Orissa, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. State like Madhya Pradesh is very important because of its strategic location – it’s a major transit point because of its central location. We are trying to identify land in these states and sign MoU with them,' said Ashtnana.
Explaining further he added, 'Strategic location of land is very important for logistics parks. It has to have clear linkage with Railways as well road network. These projects would require huge investments as they have to be truly state-of-the-art. Right now, we are focused on developing terminals. More you develop these terminals, better it would be for Railways also. Next thing we are working on is: development of cold chain. In Dankuni near Kolkata, Railways has given us land where we are developing a multi-chamber cold chain. We are in discussion with National Horticulture Board (NHB) to acquire appropriate technology. Tenders would be floated for this in next two-three months. It will be a 16 chamber warehouse where we have all temperature controlled systems for different categories of commodities.'