Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and state’s Industries Minister Uday Samant in a joint meeting on Monday decided to develop eight new multi-modal logistics parks in Maharashtra.
“Today, the transport cost in the country is increasing and it is almost 16 percent in India. By establishing these parks, we can cut down on the costs by 6-7 percent. Maharashtra will benefit immensely and will also help in creating employment opportunities by setting up these,” said Gadkari, who joined the meeting virtually.
The government is establishing multi-modal logistic parks in Ratnagiri, Jalana, Bhiwandi, Akola, Sangli, Jalgaon, Solapur, and Nasik, Samant said.
“Cutting down on transport cost would also mean that costs of goods will also be reduced which will, in turn, benefit industries and consumers,” said the state industries minister.
The locations are chosen to identify the products of that particular area. Ratnagiri would be the center for mango and cashew nuts, Nasik, Sangli, and Jalgaon are known for their grapes, the Vidarbha region for oranges and dal, while parks in western Maharashtra can be used for sugar transport.
“Maharashtra government’s industries department, National Highways Logistics Management Limited, and Railway Vikas Nigam Limited will sign joint agreements to set up these parks. The state government will make the land available for the same,” Samant said, adding that the proposals in this regard will be sent to the concerned departments soon.
Conceptualized to enable seamless inter-modal freight movement and offer multiple functionalities such as freight aggregation and distribution, The logistic parks are going to be equipped with Storage and warehousing solutions, and value-added services such as customs clearances and IT services will also be provided to users of these facilities.
