Container depot to come up at Attari

Indian traders have offered to donate land near the integrated check-post (ICP) at Attari-Wagah border for setting up a rail-linked inland container depot (ICD) to boost bilateral trade.

Facts :

• The offers come as the Indian Railways have failed to find appropriate land in Amritsar for setting up ICD, a dry port.
• The ICD is already prevalent in Ludhiana and Suranussi near Jalandhar.
• At present, 10,000 trucks of rice per month go to Ludhiana and then to Kandla and Jamnagar ports (both in Gujarat) for export to Pakistan.This entails exorbitant logistic cost.
• With the coming up of direct rail ICD, there will be no more haulage charges.
• The nearest spot Suranussi was at least 70 km away from Amritsar and it was not viable until unless ICD was set up at Attari check post.
• At present, Attari offers six railway lines - three each for passenger and goods trains from Pakistan. The proposal is to extend the Attari rail link to the ICP port - 3.2 km apart by road.
• The minimum distance between the ICP’s boundary and the railway line is just 800 m.
• Besides, full body 22-wheel truck scanners will soon be a reality here and also open round-the-clock crossing at the Attari-Wagah check post through an additional gate.
• The Home Ministry has released Rs 40 crore for installing two sets of scanners at the ICP.
• In the absence of scanners, trucks have to be queued up for clearance. These scanners will save time and help curb smuggling of forbidden articles too.

What is Inland Container Depot :

An Inland Container Depot (ICD) is a dry port or multimodal logistics centre based in a landlocked area.It offers a combination of services of sea custodian, customs department, carriers, freight forwarders and customs brokers carried out at one spot to facilitate exporters and importers for smooth handling of cargo.

By: Harman Sandhu