Concor To Set Up One More Icd Near Delhi

An ICD is a container aggregation centre from where they are transported to various ports for onward shipment or to the importers factory. Concor's decision has been prompted by the fact that the existing ICD at Tughlakabad in New Delhi is working at more than 100 per cent of its capacity.

The Tughlakabad ICD is geared to handle only 6000 TEUs per month but it is currently handling, 10,000 TEUs per month. In the meanwhile traffic from the northern sector is growing fast, according to a senior official at Concor.

Among the areas under examination for setting up the ICD is Ballabgad which is about 25 km from New Delhi.

 

The corporation may also start two smaller ICDs if one does not suffice. These will be set up in the National Capital Region which encompasses the capital and its outskirts. In fact, the ICDs could be at Haryana.

Officials have estimated the cost of construction at Rs 150 crore and have chalked out an ambitious plan of handling 5,00,000 TEUs per annum in the next few years from the northern region.

Concor is also interested in setting up ICDs at other centres like Kandla, Vadodara and Jaipur. It is in the process of formulating a long term strategy and has hired the services of a Dutch consultancy firm Hoskonins. We will finalise our plans in the next two months, the official added.

In the meanwhile, Concor is seting up two more ICDs at Nagpur and Gwalior. Both of them are expected to be commissioned this November.

The one at Nagpur is situated on a 10 hectare plot of land. Five -thousand square metres have been earmarked for the setting up of a warehouse. This will enable it to function as a container freight station (CFS) too. A CFS, apart from serving as a container aggregation centre, also serves as a point for stuffing, destuffing and customs examination of containers.

Concor hopes to handle 1000 TEUs per month at Nagpur in 1996-97. Its optimum handling capacity is 2000 TEUs per month. A source at the corporation,however, concedes that it will take some time to attract cargo. Unless we have rakes it is difficult to attract the volumes and without the volumes, it is not economically viable to operate a railway service. Our strength is really fast transportation by rail, a Concor source said.

Initially, the containers will be transported on other goods trains to Mumbai. However, road services and a combination of rail-road too would be offered.

Concor's enthusiasm for the Nagpur CFS stems from the fact that the city is very close to the Industrial centre of Butibori.

The ICD at Gwalior does not have a warehouse and therefore customs examination of containers would not be possible. Besides, it has a smaller area of around five hectares.

Concor has also secured permission to handle export containers also at its import CFS at Mulund.This is due to the surging export cargo volumes being handled at the export CFS at Mulund. The corporation has benefited since the Central Warehousing Corporation operated export CFS at Kalamboli near Jawaharlal Nehru Port was converted into a bonded customs warehouse earlier this year. This had resulted in diversion of containers to the export CFS at Mulund.

Concor operates at least 14 ICDs, four container freight stations (CFSs), four portside container terminals and 11 domestic container terminals. It carried 5,94,118 TEUs in 1995-96.

A subsidiary of Indian Railways it also operates train services between the ICDs, CFSs to various major ports.