Concor to develop ICD at Baddi

In order to facilitate the exporters of the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh region, Container Corporation of India(Concor) will develop an inland container depot (ICD) at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh.

The ICD at Baddi will provide all facilities for handling and clearance of import and export consignments as provided in other ICDs of Concor.

The move will not only help the industrialists of the region in saving the freight charges but also ensure timely delivery of consignment. At present exporters are transporting goods to ports through ICD Dappar in Punjab.

For developing the ICD at Baddi the state government has earmarked 150 acres for the project.

Speaking to Business Standard, the director(projects) of Concor, Harpreet Singh, said: "For developing the infrastructure at Baddi we would invest in phases. Initially we would infuse around Rs 18 crore for putting up road-based ICD which would be later linked by rail once the Baddi-Chandigarh rail link is commissioned by Indian Railways. In absence of railway line, the cargo would be moved from Baddi to existing ICD Dappar by road. From there it will be transported to ports."

"The construction work is likely to commence immediately after the state government allocates the land and transfers it to Concor," he said.

"Once the proposed railway line between Chandigarh-Baddi is freezed, we plan to put up rail facility for cargo with an investment of around Rs 12 crores depending upon the actual rail alignment."

The Centre has given nod to the Chandigarh-Baddi railway line, which will be built with a project cost of Rs 330 crore. The 34-km railway line is expected to be ready by 2012. The survey for the railway line is already on progress and is likely to be completed within two months.

The rail connectivity would benefit more than 4,000 industrialist of the area. Currently, around 500 containers go out from Baddi every month by road.