Babarpur ICD to start
import operations soon: CONCOR
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Mr. Rakesh Mehrotra, MD, CONCOR (4th from left) addressing the meet. On right are Dr. R.K. Dhawan, Chairman, FIEO (NR); Mr. Subhash Mittal, Convenor, FIEO Committee on IT & EP; Mr. Ashok Kumar, Dy. Director General, FIEO. On Mr. Mehrotra’s left are Mr. Yash Vardhan, Executive Director, CONCOR; and Mr. Anil Gupta, Director, CONCOR. |
Import of cargo through Babarpur ICD in Panipat will start taking place very soon, says Managing Director of Container Corporation of India Ltd (CONCOR), Mr. Rakesh Mehrotra. During an interaction with exporters and freight forwarders organized by the Northern Region Office of FIEO on 17th August at New Delhi, Mr. Mehrotra said that the requisite infrastructure for import of cargo through Babarpur ICD had been laid down by CONCOR and it was just awaiting official notification by customs to start the operation.
With regard to congestion at Moradabad ICD due to increased import of paper scrap, Mr. Mehrotra informed that most of the containerized cargo moving through the said ICD would shortly be handled through a nearby SEZ for which CONCOR had already identified the space. Moreover, said Mr. Mehrotra, plans are afoot to make Rudrapur ICD operational to further reduce congestion at Moradabad ICD. Acceding to the requests made by the exporters in the meeting, Mr. Mehrotra said that a separate room would be provided for EDI System in Moradabad ICD having a "May I help you" counter.
CONCOR MD also informed that the Corporation was in the process of installing high technology equipments at various ICDs to handle the growing volume of cargo. He said: "We are awaiting the delivery of 15 re-stackers to decongest the ICDs. Out of this, 10 will be installed at ICD Tuglakabad and the rest at the ICDs in Southern India." Mr. Mehrotra hoped that this would reduce the average time for clearing a cargo to less than 72 hours.
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Responding to the query by a participant if CONCOR could reduce its charges to compete with countries like China, Singapore and Malaysia, Mr. Mehrotra said "Though our charges are very competitive, yet we will explore if they can be reduced further." He, however, added that the volume of cargo carried by railways would be a major determinant in this regard. Commenting on discounts on containerized cargo, CONCOR MD said that if the railways could provide concession on containerized cargo, |
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A View of the participants. |
CONCOR would pass on the benefit to the users. At present, railways is offering 5% discount only on bulk cargo and not containerized cargo.
Earlier, the Northern Region Chairman of FIEO, Dr R. K. Dhawan while welcoming the participants drew the attention of CONCOR MD towards avoidable delays in the delivery of cargo by railways causing loss of time, money, and most importantly business, for exporters. He sought compensation for exporters by the railways in case of such delays. As pointed out by Dr. Dhawan, the exporters face problems mainly due to shortages of equipment, vehicles and cranes.
During the interaction, the participants apprised the CONCOR authorities of the problems such as delay in shifting the containers to inspection area, high repo charges, shortages of trucks, cranes, etc.
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"CONCOR is accepting payment of Inland Haulage Charges by cheque also as per the policy guidelines and exporters should avail this facility." Mr. Rakesh Mehrotra, Managing Director, CONCOR |
Jairam Ramesh visits Niryat Bhawan
Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Hon’ble Minister of State for Commerce visited Niryat Bhawan on the occasion of inauguration of the office of IL&FS Cluster Development Initiative Ltd. (CDI) on 22nd August. Hon’ble Minister took keen interest in having a complete look of all the facilities inside Niryat Bhawan and praised the state-of-the-art infrastructure of the building. FIEO President Mr. Ganesh Kumar Gupta and Managing Director of IL&FS (CDI) Mr. R C M Reddy accompanied the Minister while he took the complete round of the building. Mr. Gupta also had a brief interaction with the Minister over some of the issues concerning exports.
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Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Hon’ble Minister of State for Commerce (extreme right) at Niryat Bhawan on 22nd August. With him are Mr. Ganesh Kumar Gupta, President FIEO (extreme left) and Mr. R C M Reddy, Managing Director, IL&FS (CDI) (3rd from left) |
