New Delhi: Industry body Assocham today asked the government to introduce 'freight village' concept in India on the lines of Europe to give boost to logistic sector.
Freight villages are logistic concentration points developed at strategic locations to provide various activities such as warehousing, packing, re-packing, break-bulk centre, and truck parking.
In a note to Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, the chamber said freight villages are a private sector business, developed by large-scale operators that host complimentary services and related operators.
Currently, no such facilities exist in India and as a result, the surroundings of the larger cities are congested, it said.
The juxtaposition of the intermodal terminal with facilities such as container storage and handling areas, and warehouses that are linked to rail, is intended to significantly reduce cargo handling costs and time and reduce the use of roads for container transportation, it said.
It added that a well-thought-out application of this concept could bring in immense user benefits at much lower resource costs to the economy.
