The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has identified 219 acres at Karavazhi Madhapur village on the outskirts of the city to set up a multimodal logistic park. The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) has earmarked the land, which would be acquired soon, for the project.
An official with the NHAI said the Irugur and Chettipalayam areas had been playing a vital role in the logistic services in the district.
“Irugur has a railway station and is located near the city airport. So, we chose Karavazhi Madhapur village to set up the logistic park, as it is easy to shift large consignments from Irugur railway station and the city airport to the facility.”
He said the park would house warehouses. “The facility will have easy access to air, rail and road transport. Transporting goods within the domestic market is very challenging, as the freight charges are too high in India compared to other countries. Logistic parks like this one will bring down the freight charges.”
The official said the Union government was planning to set up 35 multimodal logistic parks, including the one in Coimbatore, across the country at a cost of ₹50,000 crore.
B Sriramulu, president, district chapter of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries, asserted that the logistic services in India were very expensive compared to the US and European countries. He said the multimodal logistic park would help create indirect employment opportunities in the district.
“The logistic park will boost the growth of the micro, small and medium enterprises in Coimbatore. So, we welcome the government’s move to set up the multimodal logistic park,” he said.
Recently, the state government had released a master plan for Coimbatore in which it had identified eight suburbs, including Neelambur, as the economic capital growth nodes. It is to be noted that Karavazhi Madhapur village is located near Neelambur.
C Saravanan, a resident of Karavazhi Madhapur, said the logistic park would pave the way for the comprehensive development of the area. “The land value will go up and the village panchayat will see an increase in its revenue flow. As and when the logistic park starts to function, many residential areas also will come in its neighbourhood.”
Pointing out that the residents of the village and surrounding areas were now working with the banian companies in Tirupur, he said the logistic park would provide them job opportunities in the village itself. “Bundles of grey cloth are sent to the northern part of India from the Somanur area in trucks. If the Southern Railway provides connectivity to the logistic park, power loom owners could send the grey clothes by rail. It will help them save money.”
J Sathish, director, Kongu Global Forum, urged the TIDCO to speed up the land acquisition work and hand over the land to the NHAI for setting up the logistic park. “Food grains are now stored at the building of Food Corporation of India at North Coimbatore and Ganapathy areas, while the steel yard is functioning at Peelamedu. Thousands of trucks are being used to transport the grains and steel. The logistic park should have enough storage space. Only then, the movement of trucks to Coimbatore city could be reduced.”
