Distriparks top bidder for Punjab freight station

Port-based logistics major Gateway Distriparks has emerged the top bidder for securing a 15-year operations and management (O&M) contract of a Punjab government-owned container freight station (CFS). The other bidders for the CFS contract were Apollo Tyres' logistics arm Adani Enterprises and Welspun.

The CFS "� Punjab State Container & Warehousing Corporation (Punjab Conware) "� is situated close to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (near Navi Mumbai), which handles nearly 60 per cent of the country's container traffic.

Punjab Conware, built at a cost of Rs 90 crore in 1999, is a 27.5-acre facility with a handling capacity of 1,50,000 twenty foot equivalent units.

Sources said, "Punjab government will take a final call on the bids submitted by the companies. This should happen in two weeks."

When contacted, Gateway Distriparks Chief Executive Officer Capt C S Verma declined to comment, saying "we have just submitted the bid and are waiting for the results".

Shipping industry analysts said Punjab Conware, being close to both JNPT and Gateway's CFS, gave logistics advantage to Gateway Distriparks.

"With Reliance Industries' SEZ coming up, real estate prices of the Dronagiri region, near JNPT, have shot up, rendering the setting up of greenfield CFS almost impossible. The 15-year Punjab Conware deal will positively impact its topline," the analysts said.

Following the failure of complete disinvestment, the Punjab government had invited tenders for O&M with Ernst & Young as its advisor.

While Gateway Distriparks and Welspun are bidding on a standalone basis, the Apollo Tyres subsidiary Apollo International has tied up with the logistics company Seaports.

Also, Adani Enterprises has tied up with another transport company Roadwings.

Earlier, the Punjab government had decided to sell to a strategic investor its entire 100 per cent stake in Conware and, accordingly, appointed Delhi-based R R Financial Consultants as its global advisor. The move had attracted 11 players including Forbes Gokak and ABG Heavy Industries.

Gateway Distriparks is a multi-location port-related CFS-cum-logistics company providing CFS and inland container depot (ICD) services. It operates one of the largest CFSs at JNPT and also operates an ICD at Garhi Harsaru, near Gurgaon, and CFSs at Chennai and Vizag.