MoU finalised with Dubai Ports group for inland logistics hubs in J&K

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday finalised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dubai Ports group to set up two inland logistics hubs in the state.

A delegation of the group led by its Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem arrived here during the day to discuss the modalities for setting up the hubs in Jammu and Kashmir Valley.

"Sulayem and his team held separate meetings with Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu and Industries Minister Chander Parkash Ganga followed by delegation-level parleys with Ministers and government officials concerned.

"The MoU for setting up inland logistic hubs in Jammu and Srinagar, as a joint venture between Dubai Ports and the Jammu and Kashmir government, was finalised at the delegation-level talks between group's team and government team led by Sulayem and Drabu respectively", an official statement said here.

The MoU is to be subsequently signed by the government of India with its UAE counterpart to facilitate the hubs in Jammu and Kashmir.

To begin with, 100 acres of land would be offered by the state government near the Samba railway station as equity in the joint venture with Dubai Ports for the logistic hub in Jammu region. Around 100 acres would be earmarked near Ompora in Budgam in the Kashmir Valley for a similar facility.

Dubai Ports has agreed to make its maiden foreign direct investment of around Rs 1,500 crore for two dry ports, warehouses, cold-storage chain, controlled atmospheric stores and supply chain to transport commodities and products including horticultural and agricultural produce, handicrafts and industrial products from the state directly to the world markets.

"One of the major problems of J&K economy is high cost of transportation of goods and products. We have to get fruits, agriculture produce, handicrafts and industrial products in trucks to outside world. If we get a dry port and cold chain, the commodities can move through an integrated transport chain. This will bring down the transportation cost by 20 to 25 per cent and thus give a major fillip to the state economy," the Finance Minister said.

--IANS

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