Arshiya plans for capacity hike

Arshiya is all set to adopt and incorporate plans in order to increase capacity by investing Rs 150 crore

Capacity increase seems to be on the mind of the Indian shipping sector. Logistics giant Arshiya International is one such name which plans to invest Rs 150 crore to double its rail capacity to 30 rakes in the present fiscal, a senior executive of the logistics firm shared with the media on the sidelines of a recent conference.

Sajal Mittra, CEO of its subsidiary Arshiya Rail Infrastructure, said that the company will get 15 additional rakes before March, which will be dedicated to serve the EXIM (export-import) sector. Currently, the company is operating 15 such rakes, each consisting of 45 wagons, 14 of which are used for domestic purposes like transporting goods produced at one place to the other, said Mr Mittra. He added that the new ones will be put to use for ferrying goods for exports or getting imported goods inland. Each of the rakes costs around Rs 12.5 crore.

According to Ramesh Dewidi, proprietor of VR Logistics Pvt Ltd, a small-sized logistics service provider based in Ludhiana, “India's logistics services providers are steadily expanding their limited supply chain network countrywide to cater to a growing clientele, but limited capabilities and poor infrastructure are slowing them down.”  

More plans in pipeline

Besides the rakes, the company is also quite keen on investing in the free trade warehousing zones (FTWZs). Mr Mittra said the second FTWZ at Khurja near Delhi will become operational by October. Almost all the FTWZs are typically spread over 200 acres, designed to store multiple lines of products and demands an investment of up to Rs 700 crore. Arshiya’s first FTWZ at Panvel near Mumbai is also the country's first and two other FTWZs are coming up in Chennai and Nagpur - both of which are expected to be operational by mid-2013. Arshiya is identifying possible land in the eastern zone for the last of its five FTWZs.