The Indian Railways was confident of completing the entire 2,800 km of the dedicated freight corridor projects by 2022, the head of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corp. of India Ltd (DFCCIL) has claimed. AK Sachan, Managing Director, DFCCIL further said that being one of the most prestigious infrastructure projects in the country, it was a high priority area for the government.
Addressing the webinar, ‘Opportunities in Indian Railways: Fostering Infrastructure for Future’, organised by the industry chamber Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), on Wednesday, Sachan said, “DFCCIL plans to connect the inland waterways from Varanasi to the eastern corridor to provide direct connectivity from Haldia Port to Ludhiana.” We will also be allowing private players to operate on these corridors, he added.
Elaborating on the project, he said, “The dedicated freight corridor project has created many employment opportunities and multiple industries are dependent on it. The construction industry has highly benefited from this sector and once the operation starts, the logistics industry will be greatly impacted.”
Achal Khare, Managing Director, National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) said, “Under the high-speed rail projects, there are a total of 25 construction packages out of which 20 packages are allotted to Indian companies and only five to Japanese agencies. This will further give a thrust to the government’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.”
LC Trivedi, General Manager, East Central Railways and North Eastern Railways of the Indian Railways said, “Ministry of Railways has ordered a gradual shift of all their tenders to GEM (Government e-Marketplace) for bringing more transparency in procurement.” This will create ample opportunities through the participation of multiple stakeholders in the railway sector, he added.
BVN Rao, Chairman, FICCI Transport Infrastructure Committee and Business Chairman (Transportation & Urban Infra), GMR Group said, “Indian Railways has done a remarkable job as they have successfully executed more than 200 long-pending maintenance works and have set a clear example of turning crisis into opportunity.”
Sandeep Selot Co-Chairman Railways, FICCI Transport Infrastructure Committee, Managing Director GE Diesel Locomotives & Chief Commercial Officer (South Asia & South East Asia), GE Transportation said, “India is a strategic market both in terms of growth and adoption of modern technologies and therefore several manufacturers have built global capacities in the country.”
Arunendra Kumar, Advisor Railways, FICCI Transport Infrastructure Committee and President Rail & Urban Transportation, JBM Group said,” Ministry of Railways will be the prime mover for Atmanirbhar Bharat as now most of the locomotives, electrification products are being Made in India.”
