Uttarakhand logistics hubs to boost industrial growth

To enable freight traffic to switch to rail network, help industrialists save money

With the mushrooming of industry in Uttarakhand, the state government is setting up two logistics hubs at Pantnagar and Haridwar. This will enable freight traffic to switch from the road to the rail network and help industrialists save time and money.

The government-owned State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (Sidcul) has formed a joint venture with Container Corporation of India Ltd (Concor), a public sector enterprise, to develop the two logistics hubs.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna laid the foundation stone for the Pantnagar logistics hub on October 25.

“These two logistics hubs will be linked with the eastern and western corridors and will get a direct rail link with New Delhi and other parts of the country,” said Alok Kumar Jain, the state’s chief secretary. The logistics hubs will also help Sidcul to promote industrialisation in Uttarakhand in a big way, he added.

Experts said rail freight charges are now much cheaper than truck freight rates, in view of the recent hike in diesel prices. “By linking freight traffic to the rail network, we will be reducing the cost of transportation for industry in Uttarakhand by one-third or one-fourth,” said Rakesh Sharma, principal secretary, industrial development.

“Road connectivity between Pantnagar and New Delhi is very poor and truck containers take a much longer time to reach Tughlakabad Inland Container Depot (ICD) at New Delhi. But in the case of the railways, containers will get preference in rail traffic and we will save time and money,” said Sharma.

Sidcul, the nodal agency for industrial development in the hill state, had chalked out plans to provide logistics support to industry through the two proposed hubs, following the development of key industrial estates at Haridwar and Pantnagar.

The logistics-cum-transport hubs will have warehouses, truck parking facilities, dormitories and 24-hour canteens and restaurants, fuel stations, service centres, office complexes for service providers and hotels.

An investment of Rs 150 crore is proposed in the Pantnagar logistics hub, which will come up in the first phase. The logistics hub at Haridwar will be built in the second phase, and will entail a lower investment due to the availability of a railway network there.

Chairing a meeting on the Kichha-Khatima railway line at the state secretariat recently, the chief secretary had said that, considering the potential to attract investment into Sitarganj, where Sidcul is setting up a new industrial estate, a freight corridor was being constructed there also. He said it would prove useful in transporting the output of factories located there.

The chief secretary said that agreement on the proposal has been reached with the railway authorities in this direction. The corridor will be connected to other parts of the country also. He said that a fresh survey of the proposed new 53-km-long Kichha-Khatima railway line would be conducted. A third logistics hub will also be built at Sitarganj.