Arshiya plans sixth free trade warehousing zone

Logistics services provider Arshiya International that opened country’s first free trade warehousing zone (FTWZ) near Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai last year is in talks for setting up a similar facility at Mundra Port and special economic zone (SEZ), the country’s largest private port.

The Mundra facility would be the sixth FTWZ to be set up by Arshiya; the other four at Nagpur, Delhi, Chennai and one in East are at various stages of planning and implementation. An FTWZ is a deemed foreign territory within India which is created as a subsection of an SEZ.

“We have plans to set up an FTWZ at the Mundra SEZ but nothing concrete has been chalked out as yet. It would definitely be easier to set up one at this location as no land acquisitions issues would be involved,” said Ajay Mittal, chairman and managing director, Arshiya.

Pankaj Modi, chief operating officer at Mundra Port and SEZ, confirmed that discussions have taken place between both the parties.

“However, these are at a very preliminary stage,” he said. The official did not share any size and investment related details stating it would be speculative at this stage.

However, if the deal gets through, the project can come up at a faster speed, given the absence of land acquisition issues and the basic infrastructure already in place.

Arshiya commissioned the first phase of its Mumbai FTWZ last year. The total investment for this 165-acre facility, to be developed in two phases, is pegged at around Rs1,500 crore. For the December quarter the company reported segment revenue of around Rs5.1 crore from FTWZs and distriparks, which are container yards with warehousing facilities to process incoming cargo.

Its second FTWZ at Khurja, Uttar Pradesh, is under construction and is expected to start operations soon.

The Delhi FTWZ is expected to be followed by the one at Nagpur. For its FTWZ in South India, the company is believed to have zeroed in on a location close to Chennai. Arshiya has planned the fifth FTWZ in East India in order to have a pan-India presence.

Along with FTWZs, Arshiya also plans to develop domestic distriparks at similar strategic locations, including one closer to the Mumbai FTWZ.