NHAI arm may award 15 logistics park deals over the next three years

National Highways and Logistics Management Ltd (NHLML), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) fully owns, plans to award 15 more contracts on multimodal logistics parks over the next three years in public-private partnership (PPP) mode. The parks will have a 50:50 funding model.

“There are 35 multimodal logistics parks planned across the country with a capital allocation of Rs 50,000 crore. Tenders are being issued for Chennai, Bengaluru, Indore, and Nagpur this fiscal year. The Jogigopha logistics park in Assam has started construction (this is over and above the 15 to be awarded),” Prakash Gaur, chief executive officer (CEO), NHLML, said.

The SPV, formed under the guidance of the road ministry, aims to address typical cost overruns with infrastructure projects. Cost overruns happen because of the time lag between awards of projects and their commencement. This logistics project is part of the Rs 7-trillion mega infrastructure project launched this month.

A multimodal logistics park is one part of the five-corner logistics project envisaged, with wayside amenities, intermodal stations, ropeways, and optical fibre cable infrastructure being its other constituents.

“We will be prepared with all approvals in place before the project is awarded in terms of land acquisition, the environment nod, and railways approvals, along with power and water supplies. From the appointed date, both parties (private as well as the government) will have completed work to some extent with private players having their technical and financial closure in place. This will ensure there is no time lag in commencing projects once awarded,” he said. The CEO said large players, domestic and international, were participating in the business of logistics parks. He, however, did not give details.

Of the 600 wayside amenities planned across 22 states, about 120, being awarded in FY22, are attracting an interest from medium-scale operators and developers, mostly domestic, said Gaur. Wayside amenities are small set-up facilities comprising fuel stations, food courts, parking spaces, washrooms, and first-aid services.