Industry body proposes ‘freight villages’ to reduce logistics cost for traders
An industry body has sent a proposal to the government for the setting up of freight villages that will help traders to reduce logistics costs by providing an umbrella of services. “Freight villages are logistics concentration points, which are developed at strategic locations to provide various logistics-related activities such as warehousing, packing, re-packing, break-bulk centre, and truck parking, said ASSOCHAM (The Associated Chambers of Commerce of India), which has submitted a proposal to Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari. The concept of freight village is based on the European model of clustering related logistics activities, the ASSOCHAM said. In Europe, freight villages are usually operated under public-private partnership mode. According to the proposal, an area closer to a merging point of major transit routes can be defined as a freight village. The management of such a facility will have the responsibility of planning long-term investment and growth as well as the short-term maintenance of the infrastructure. “This is similar to the strategic management role of a port authority/corporation. Centralized management has the responsibility for planning the long-term investment and growth of the freight village as well as the short-term maintenance of the village infrastructure,” the industry body said in a statement. In the absence of such facilities, many urban centers face traffic congestion triggered by frequent movement of trucks and other commercial vehicles. Long traffic jams near cities also lead to escalation of diesel cost and other transportation expenses. “In parallel, unlicensed workshops, service facilities and spare parts outlets have emerged in such areas,” the ASSOCHAM said adding that the lack of metropolitan regulations (or enforcement when these exist) on specific timings for trucks to load, unload and move within metropolitan areas also contribute to traffic snarls and pollution.
June 22, 2015 | 8:03 pm IST.
to success.