The government is processing the bids for three multimodal logistic parks (MMLPs) at Bangalore, Nagpur, and Indore and expects the process to be completed by March this year.

Bids for MMLPs at Bengaluru, Nagpur, and Indore are in process by the National Highways Logistics Management (NHLM) and are expected to be completed by FY23 end, a senior government official said.

The MMLP Bengaluru bid had to be re-floated as a bidder was disqualified, leaving a single bidder scenario. Hence, to avoid any controversy, a fresh bid had to be floated last month, but things are now progressing well, he added.

Strategically located

The MMLP at Bangalore is planned for an area of 400 acres and is located in Muddalinganahalli in the Bangalore-Rural district. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked between NHLM and the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) in October 2021.

The MMLP will be strategically located in south India, which boasts the presence of large e-commerce players in and around Bangalore. Besides, it is also well connected with rail and road, which will further boost demand for warehousing and related logistics.

Similarly, the MMLP at Nagpur, which is a key industrial belt in Maharashtra with the Butibori industrial zone considered the largest in Asia. The MMLP is planned for an area of 230 acres and is located in Sindhi village in Wardha district. It boasts road, rail, and port connectivity. The MoU for Nagpur was signed with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in October 2021.

The third MMLP at Indore is planned for an area of around 300 acres and is located in Machal village of Indore. Its MoU was signed in September 2021 with the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (MPIDC).

The Indore MMLP is a critical one, as the city is a major trading hub for western and central India. Indore, considered the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, is also a hub for industries focusing on automobiles, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and software, among others.

In November 2022, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) awarded Reliance Industries (RIL) the contract for setting up India’s first MMLP near Chennai. The ₹1,424 crore project will facilitate efficient, cost-effective and value-added logistics services such as cargo aggregation & disaggregation, distribution, inter modal transfer, sorting, packing, repacking, etc.

MMLPs will play a crucial role in reducing India’s logistics costs from over 14 per cent of GDP to around 9 per cent, which will be on par with international standards. Under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP), launched in October 2021, MoRTH is developing 35 MMLPs, out of which 15 MMLPs are being prioritised in the next three years.