@LiveMint: Essar Ports, a unit of the INR 984 bn Essar Group, is planning on an expansion drive in both domestic as well as international markets. Presently it has two operational ports at Hazira and Vadinar in Gujarat with a combined capacity of 88 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa).

Essar Ports is seeking to develop a port in Mozambique as the conduit for the exports of iron ore from an affiliate’s mining assets in Zimbabwe. This is in line with the investments made by Essar Group in Africa and the potential investments by other groups in the continent for sourcing iron ore. The company aims to benefit from the mineral rich country and is working towards signing a concession agreement for building a port.

It plans to expand capacity to 158 mtpa over the next few years and is in the process of building five more ports. This includes a 16 mtpa iron ore berth at Paradip in Orissa, a 20 mtpa dry bulk terminal at Salaya in Gujarat, a 20 mtpa general cargo terminal at Hazira in Gujarat, a 14 mtpa coal terminal at Paradip, and a liquid storage terminal at Vadinar in Gujarat. It is also bidding for developing Gujarat Maritime Board’s (GMB) proposed green field port off Nargol village in South Gujarat.

@BusinessLine: Kochi Port has invited firms for participating in setting up a Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis at the port area. The firm selected through the tender process will also be offered co-developer status. The FTWZ would be developed on a 102 acres of land located at the southern end of the Willingdon Island. It will cater to export-import of various commodities such as tea and coffee, cashew, spices, electrical and electronics, food and beverages. The FTWZ will provide world-class facility for warehousing, logistics and distribution, handling and transportation, export-import clearance and trade facilitation, and commercial office space.

FTWZ offers a host of benefits which include duty deferment, local tax and service tax exemption, and 100% income-tax exemption for developers and users of the zone. It also allows gains of duty-free re-export, shared warehousing and equipment, reduced time in customs clearing, and improved logistics connectivity.

The FTWZ will function as international trading hub, serving key links in global logistics and supply chains for both India and the world. It will provide an ideal platform for the successful proliferation of trading and warehousing companies in a globally competitive scenario. Additionally, the port has a location advantage as it lies on the busy direct sea route from Europe to Australia and Far East.

@LiveMint: Germany based Vosta LMG BV has tied up with Tebma Shipyards and also signed a cooperation agreement with Indian government-owned BEML Ltd. Vosta, a global dredging technology major, will build dredges to deepen the channels of ports and harbours jointly with Chennai-based Tebma Shipyards. BEML Ltd will supply the dredging technology and equipments and the dredges will be constructed at the Tebma Shipyards facility with transfer of technology and design of Vosta LMG.

Tebma Shipyards has strong knowledge of constructing dredges, with shipbuilding facilities at Malpe in Karnataka and Chengalpet in Tamil Nadu. The Vosta-BEML partnership is also bidding for a tender in Bangladesh for the construction of six dredges. Lack of availability of dredging equipment has resulted in huge demand for dredges in India which are indispensable for construction of new ports and maintenance of existing ports.

@AMEInfo: A high-level delegation from Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) attended the Abu Dhabi and Mumbai Investment Forum to meet prospective Indian leaders and discuss investment opportunities. Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD) was presented at this occasion as a business hub for Indian investment. KIZAD has signed a strategic agreement with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to promote Indian investments in industrial, warehousing and logistics projects. Under the agreement, both parties will share information and cooperate to support positive growth of Indian relations with the UAE.

KIZAD offers very low land leasing rates and low utilities cost, which helps to put it ahead of competition. It is also providing the value propositions needed specifically for the Indian market as many Indian companies have shown investment interest in it. The agreement is a strategic step to provide exceptional levels of efficiency, profitability and ease of doing business and expand relationships with Indian customers. With India being one of the most important markets in the world, KIZAD is keen on following up with them in order to in set up one of the world’s largest industrial zones.

@GreaterKashmir: Department of Posts has recently launched its Speed Post ‘Free Home Collection’ service in Kashmir to counter private courier services, which are rapidly growing their share in the postal market. The service will be available in Jammu, Srinagar, Udampur, Leh, Anantnag and Baramulla with same day speed post service being delivered on the same day within the town at specified offices. ‘One India One Rate’ scheme, under which INR 25 will be charged for consignments upto 50 grams to any destination in India, has also been introduced.

Under the new service, speed post will be directly collected from the customer’s doorstep through the help of a toll free number and delivered next day within the state. INR 12 would be charged for handling the posts within the city, INR 25 for across country and INR 20 for within the state. Even if the mail is meant for small volumes or large volumes, domestic or international, they will be delivered within the next day.

Posts would be tracked through the online ‘SpeedNet’ tracking system that combines reliability, speed and customer friendly service. The web-based technology will help the customers to track Speed Post consignments from booking to delivery on the India Post website using the respective thirteen digit barcode.