Concor picks up 26% stake in Angul-Sukinda rail SPV

Company is is also developing two multi modal logistic parks at Parjang and Duburi stations

Container Corporation of India (Concor), the country's largest logistics services provider, has decided to pick up 26 per cent stake in Angul-Sukinda Railway Ltd (ASRL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed to implement the key rail link project.

Anil Kumar Gupta, chairman & managing director of Concor handed over the consent letter for releasing Rs 100 crore to Dilip Kumar Samantaray, managing director of ASRL in New Delhi on November 3. The value of 26 per cent equity in ASRL is estimated at Rs 156 crore.

The decision to participate in this new rail line is primarily to promote the development of rail infrastructure and logistics in Odisha, Gupta said.

Concor is also developing two multi-modal logistic parks (MMLPs) at Parjang and Duburi stations of this new rail line for expanding container traffic in the state.

The crucial rail link project estimated to cost Rs 1100 crore, is aimed at connecting steel plants based in and around Angul with the iron ore rich Keonjhar-Banspani belt and Talcher Coalfields with the Kalinganagar steel hub.

Other equity partners of the SPV include Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL), Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) and Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco).

Work on the Angul-Sukinda rail link is expected to commence after the end of the current agriculture season. The rail line is targeted for completion by June 2018.

This rail line is set to handle traffic of 70.28 million tonne and will serve industries like Bhushan Steel, Uttam Galva Steel, Jindal Stainless Ltd, Visa Industries, Tata Steel, Monnet Ispat & Energy and Rungta Mines.

The project needs 205 acres of private land, 220 acres of government land and 251 acres of forest land. The project is being implemented on the public private partnership (PPP) mode.