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The Mukesh Ambani led Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries has secured the commission to develop India’s first Multi Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) in Chennai, which is expected to process 7.17 million metric tonne (MMT) cargo, in a horizon period of 45 years. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), in line with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, will be developing 35 MMLPs, out of which 15 MMLPs are prioritised in the next three years.
To be built in three phases, the MMLP in Chennai will require an investment of close to INR 800 crores from Reliance Industries, and overall investment of INR 1,424 crores. Phase 1 has a completion target of 2025 to start operations. The site of the MMLP in Chennai can be leveraged to yield maximum benefits, considering its proximity to Chennai Port (52 km), Ennore Port (80km), and Katupalli Airport (87 km).
A government Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been formed amongst National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), Rail Vikas Nigam, Chennai Port Authority and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. It will provide four-lane national highway connectivity of 5.4 km at an estimated INR 104 crore, and a new rail siding of 10.5 km to the MMLP, costing INR 217 crore.
Next in line to sally forth are MMLPs in Bengaluru, Nagpur and Indore, over a period of the next few months.
The MMLPs which will be set up under the Logistics Efficiency Enhancement Programme (LEEP), will serve as intermodal freight-handling facilities with mechanised material handling provisions and will contain warehouses, specialised cold chain facilities, freight/container terminals and bulk/break-bulk cargo terminals. They will also include various value-added services, including labelling, packaging, tagging and crating, thereby offering a variety of services at a single location.
The MMLPs are to be developed under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) mode for which both the Central Government and State Government have come together.
