Aviation to become part of multimodal logistics hubs

The aviation sector will now be a part of multimodal logistics hubs in India to promote holistic logistics solutions, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said.

So far, highways, ports, inland waterways and railways were part of the multimodal logistics hubs in India.

Development of integrated logistics solutions will be part of the Prime Minister’s flagship ‘Make in IndiaÂ’ programme.

“The government will bring aviation sector this time into multimodal hubs as it has huge potential in the logistics sector also,” Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Gadkari said at a curtain-raiser event on India’s first Integrated Transport and Logistic Summit on May 3-5. The Summit is expected to attract investments to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore, he said.

The minister said transforming India’s logistics from a point-to-point model to a hub-and-spoke model is an effort to reduce logistics cost and ensure that multimodal infrastructure comes up in the country in an integrated manner.

India is a growing economy and the high cost of logistics — currently at 14 per cent of GDP — is having a negative effect, he said.

The minister also said that the government is committed to connect centres of high economic activity into corridors. “Forty-four economic corridors along with numerous feeder routes and inter-corridor routes requiring consistent four-lane infrastructure covering 55,000 km have been identified,” he said.