Nitin Gadkari stresses on need to reduce logistics cost to boost development

Gadkari informed that the government has planned to construct logistics parks across the country

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has stressed on the need to reduce logistics costs to boost development of industry.

“Logistics costs are 12 per cent in the US, 12 per cent in European countries and 8 to 10 per cent in China whereas in India, it is around 14 to 16 per cent. We need to build appropriate infrastructure to reduce logistics costs, a major issue faced by Indian industry,” Gadkari said.

Speaking at a conference on "Development of Maharashtra from a New Budgetary Perspective" organized by Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MACCIA) in Mumbai, he said that the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan will enable development of cargo terminals, setting up Multi Modal Logistics Parks and increasing coverage of National Highways.

Gadkari informed that the government has planned to construct logistics parks worth Rs 2 lakh crore across the country, and that Maharashtra also should reap the benefit from this.

“The country now has the facility to land aircraft on 20 highways. Dry ports have begun functioning in Wardha district and new dry ports will be started in Solapur, Sangli and Nashik. These projects include storage, pre-cooling plants and production processing facilities. Today, oranges, yarn and fabric can be transported directly to Haldia from Nagpur and further to Bangladesh,” he said.

The Union Minister also pitched for Ethanol as a better alternative to petrol and diesel. “Ethanol is ten times better as fuel than petrol or diesel, and is cheaper and environment-friendly. There are three ethanol pumps already operating in Pune. Greater use of ethanol as a fuel will help us in controlling pollution to a large extent.”

The Minister added that ethanol production can create employment opportunities for about 50 lakh youth in the state of Maharashtra. The country needs 4.5 trillion litres of ethanol. Sugarcane farmers in Maharashtra can benefit from ethanol production and consequently transform the face of rural Maharashtra.

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