The contract deliverables include:
-- stevedoring and customs clearance for copper concentrate imports at Kandla Port in Gujarat state;
-- container train-cum-road logistics linking Kandla Port; the copper mines at Malanjkhand in Madhya Pradesh state; HCL's smelters at Ghatsila in Jharkhand state and Khetri in Rajasthan state; and HCL's continuous cast copper rods plant at Taloja, Navi Mumbai, in Maharashtra state.
-- all-India distribution of the finished products to major commercial centers by container trucks.
The contract was awarded to Sical Multimodal and Rail Transport Ltd, a wholly-owned specialized subsidiary of Sical Infra Assets Ltd, the company that houses Sical's ownership in infrastructure-oriented, asset-intensive businesses. Sical Logistics owns 74% equity in Sical Infra, with Old Lane Mauritius owning 26% equity.
Sical Multimodal and Rail Transport has a Category-1 all-India license to run container trains for domestic and exim cargo. The company has deployed 1,800 various-sized containers on 5 rakes operating out of 5 rail head terminals.
Comment by Ashwin Muthiah, Chairman
The new contract reinforces our strong belief that customers are increasingly seeing the value of Sical's unique proposition of seamless, multimodal supply chain linkages across rail, road, port and sea, said Ashwin Muthiah, Chairman, Sical Logistics. HCL is a prized customer: we flagged off our container train operations in March 2008 with their cargo. We are delighted with HCL's re-affirmation of faith in Sical's capabilities with integrated multimodal logistics, said Ashwin Muthiah.