To cater to the export-import trade in the region, Gateway Distriparks (Kerala) Ltd started full-scale container freight station operations at Kochi on Tuesday.

The company had started partial operations in May.

Located opposite to the International Container Transhipment Terminal at Vallarpadam, the facility is spread across 6.5 acres leased from the Cochin Port Trust for 30 years. The freight station has warehousing facilities measuring 10,000 sq. ft and storage facilities for handling around 4,000 TEUs a month.

The freight station will continue to provide a separate area for Customs authorities to inspect cargo on wheels. These combined facilities along with its proximity to the the Vallarpadam terminal will primarily help in lowering transaction costs for importers and exporters and strengthen the trade, company Chairman M.P. Pinto he said.

Incorporated in 2006, the company is a joint venture between Gateway Distriparks Ltd (60 per cent) and Chakiat Group (40 per cent). Gateway Distriparks is one of the largest players in the container logistics industry with freight stations at Mumbai, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and rail-linked inland container depots near Gurgaon and Ludhiana. It also operates cold chains and container services with those depots .

more stations needed

Pinto, a former Shipping Secretary, pointed out that the Vallarpadam Terminal offered opportunities for Kochi to set up more freight stations. Kerala lacks a good facility for aggregation of cargo, because of which cargo tends to go elsewhere, he added.

The company has plans to set up another freight station at nearby Kalamassery, where it has acquired 22 acres, he said.

sajeevkumar.v@thehindu.co.in

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