Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu would jointly lay the foundation stone of Multi-Modal logistics Hub (MMlH) at Kila Raipur in ludhiana on January 20.
The decision was taken by the Chief Minister while presiding over a high-level meeting of the officers of the State Government and the Railways Ministry at his office on Monday. Highlighting the significance of this project, Badal said, “In the wake of the extension of eastern freight corridor from Dankuni up to Amritsar and western freight corridor from JNPT Navi Mumbai to Khurja (Uttar Pradesh), Punjab is on the threshold of ushering in an era of unprecedented economic development.” In such a scenario, MMlH — to be constructed at a cost of `500 crore in Kila Raipur — would prove to be a game changer for the industry of the State, he said.
“Being near to ludhiana, this MMlH would provide direct linkage to the eastern freight corridor,” he said, adding that ludhiana-Dhuri-Jakhal feeder line would join it with the Western Corridor at Rewari (Haryana) thereby immensely benefiting the state industry by prompt, easy and cheap transport of raw material and finished goods through the Railways.
Highlighting the benefits of this prestigious project, the Chief Minister said that it was all the more important because in future as per Foreign Trade Act, 1992, only MMlH could handle Export-Import (EXIM) Cargo.
Badal said that this MMlH would be enabled with the facility for Reefer Containers (refrigerated shipping container) for domestic and international cargo. Domestic terminal would have storage facility on the Railhead for Steel, Fertilizer, Cement and others that would cut down logistics cost drastically, he said.
Badal said that he would soon take up the issue of constructing another such Multi-Modal logistics Hub with the Railways Ministry at Khasa near Amritsar as there was a tremendous scope of trade and commerce once the Indo-Pak borders were opened for trade. He asked the officers to explore the viability of getting about 100 acres of land required for this project.