Tea shippers routing their export consignments through the Amingaon (Guwahati) inland container depot (ICD) are agog over the Container Corporation of India's (Concor) recent initiatives.
First, they may be spared of paying the empty haulage charge if Concor's bid to move import boxes on the Kolkata port-Amingaon leg succeeds.
Second, the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) will soon become operational at Amingaon, rendering documentation transparent, faster and easier.
Third, Concor has accepted the shippers' demand for an additional 100,000 sq ft of warehousing capacity within the ICD and will start work shortly.
The present capacity is 7,500 square metres.
Fourth, Concor will spend about Rs 3 crore on paving additional areas in the ICD and, finally, large-scale transportation of domestic tea containers between Amingaon and Kolkata is on the anvil.
Right now, the shipping lines move the empties into the ICD for stuffing.
But the empty movement involves cost which can be avoided, at least partially, if, instead of the empties, the containers loaded with imports for North-East are moved into the ICD.
After de-stuffing and fumigation, the same containers can be used for stuffing.
ASIDE ASSISTANCE
The funding for additional warehousing capacity, estimated at Rs 25 crore, it is learnt, might be available under the Union Government's ASIDE (Assistance to States for Developing Export Infrastructure & Allied Activities) scheme.
Kolkata-bound domestic tea containers will be transported in export rakes only when the number of export containers available at the ICD is not enough to load a full rake.
Last year, nearly 1,000 domestic tea containers were moved.
THROUGHPUT
In 2011-12, Amingaon handled 2,600 TEUs of tea export containers, up from 2,285 TEUs in 2010-11.
“This is the second highest throughput ever since ICD commissioning in 1985-86,” a Concor spokesman said, pointing out that the highest so far, 2,900 TEUs, was achieved in 2009-10.
Among the exporters participating in the ICD shipments in 2011-12, McLeod Russel, topped the list, at 1,860 TEUs (1,570 TEUs), and among the shipping lines, the Shipping Corporation of India, at 1,470 TEUs (1,135 TEUs).
The target for the current year has been set at 3,000 TEUs.