Aiming to capture the growing demand for container cargo, JM Baxi Group and DP World are jointly setting up a Container Freight Station (CFS) at Visakhapatnam Port.
According to sources, the CFS, which is expected to involve an investment of around US$13 million, will be spread over an area of 28 acres and will have a capacity to handle around 50,000 TEUs per annum, reported The Times of India.
The JM Baxi Group, which has majority stake in the United Liners Agencies of India, had earlier joined hands with DP World to set up the Visakha Container Terminal Private Ltd (VCTPL).
Confirming this, JM Baxi Group executive director Sriram Ravi Chander said, "The project has got the approval of the Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) board and we are going ahead with the project."
However, he said that after the Central government put in place new guidelines for land policy at major ports, the group is now awaiting the land valuation after which they will take up the project.
With the second phase expansion of the container terminal also expected to take off at a cost of around $116.5 million, Ravi Chander said, "If you take ports such as Chennai and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) there are as many as 30 CFS and several empty depots. However in Vizag there are only around four CFS to cater to the growing container cargo."
"While the existing CFS is capturing local volumes, we want to focus on up-country cargo. If you look at cargoes such as granite, maize, rice coming from neighbouring states, they are not being captured as yet probably because we don't have rail connectivity. We want to handle these cargoes and add value to the customer," he added.
At the same time, sources said that the move to set up a CFS by the group will help feed the volumes needed for VCTPL as it has already bagged the extension of the container terminal.
Elaborating on the volumes to be handled at the CFS, he said, "We are expecting to handle an average of around 40,000 to 50,000 TEUs annually. But with efficient management practices, we hope to handle around 80,000 TEUs on an annual basis." The group expects to have the CFS in place within one year of the contract being awarded.
Furthermore, with demand for white goods, including electronic goods such as refrigerators, air conditioners, computer goods, and fast moving consumer goods expected to grow on the east coast, setting up of the CFS would prove beneficial for the group.
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