Container Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR) is all set to introduce bigger 12ft containers to the Indian shipping sector and Mazagon Dock Shipbuolders have been commissioned with the deal for 2,500 of them. Each container will cost INR 3.5 to INR 4 lakhs, taking Mazagon Dock’s fee for the task to around INR 100 crores. These 12ft containers debuting in India are being said to be more useful than the current dwarf containers.
We have given manufacturing orders to Mazagon Dock for 2,500 containers. The order includes 1,500 containers of 10 feet high and 1,000 containers of 12 feet high.”
V. Kalyana Rama, CEO and MD, CONCOR
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, a state run war-ship manufacturer, is now the third state-owned firm to enter container manufacturing after Braithwaite Co & Ltd. and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.. CONCOR has already sanctioned orders for 6,000 containers that it will buy from Indian firms.
The call to manufacture containers in the homeland was taken considering the severe container shortage that global shipping industry faced in light on the pandemic, which also hit the Indian exporters aggressively. The Union Railways Ministry also approved the 12ft high, 20ft long containers for freight movement on its network in November 2021.
According to the Railways Ministry circular, when commodities are transported in these 12ft containers, they will be charged at Container Class Rate (CCR), subject to the existing terms and conditions.
As of now, India imports shipping containers from China and it is expected that India will be needing close to 60,000 new containers by 2026, and will require an addition of 10,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) annually.
Currently, 90% of container manufacturing takes place in China, however, India has been trying to make a place in the segment under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. Domestic container manufacturing will not only create an import substitute for new shipping containers, but will also assist in the security of exports’ supply chains.
