Bangalore-based CWCL is also awaiting railway clearance for a similar facility at Panpave in Mumbai which will be connected to Nhava Sheva port. Land acquisition process for the project is completed. The Mumbai and the Gurgaon facilities would be linked.

CWCL, in strategic alliance with the Container Corporation of India Ltd (Concor), announced the launch of the ICD which is spread over 31 acres. The ICD would handle its first cargo in another two months.

According to S Santhanam, managing director of Sattva Business Group, consultants for the project, the terminal would begin with handling of export and import cargo for which they have tied up with theTughlakabad facility of Concor.

The facility, conceived as a domestic international cargo handling hub, has been developed with two railway sidings of one km each capable of handling two rake loads of train. "Once the sidings are ready we will start loading and unloading directly," said Santhanam. The sidings are expected to be ready in another six months.

CWCL would be targetting export consignments for rice and general cargo of BPL, Castrol, HLL, Philips.

Besides Mumbai and Nhava Sheva ports, cargo would be moved directly to Kandla port. According to Santhanam, at present, Kandla-bound cargo moves mainly by road. "To begin with, we will have the capacity to move one rake load of train or about 450-500 tonnes daily to Kandla."

The facility is expected to cater to cargo originating in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and parts of Punjab.

According to CWCL managing director N Adhikesavalu Reddy, land acquisition was a major problem. "It delayed the project by six months though for other things we received goodcooperation from the Railways and the customs."

The total investment in the project, except equipment, is Rs 25 crore out of which Rs 10 crore has already been put in. IDBI is providing Rs 15-crore loan.

CWCL claimed that the terminal has been designed with three guarantees to disperse traffic at the rate of 100 vehicles per hour, to absorb traffic with its four access roads and stop traffic within its parking stadium and to function as a multi-modal access link from ports of Mumbai, Nhava Sheva, Kandla and Chennai and Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The company also claimed that it is the first ICD with warehousing facility which is spread over 3 lakh square feet. On the domestic front, cargo from train would be unloaded or unloaded and warehoused or cleared at the terminal and then transported to the destination. During the loading or unloading, the train engine would not be required to wait.