Goa has great potential as a logistics hub and the government should formulate a comprehensive policy to tap it, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said Friday announcing the start of the first coastal feeder service between Goa's Mormugao Port Trust and Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust.
Addressing a press conference in Panaji, Kirit Maganlal, chairman of the CII Goa Council, also said that once the feeder service takes off, there was a possibility of operating a roll-on-roll-off (RORO) service ferrying trucks between the two ports, just like the facility offered by the Konkan Railway via rail.
"Goa has the potential to emerge as a logistics hub in western India. Such a hub would cater not only to Goa but also to large parts of Southern Maharashtra and Northern Karnataka. The increased volume of traffic has opportunities in all facets of logistics including transportation, warehousing, freight forwarding, express cargo delivery, container and shipping services, etc," Maganlal said.
Currently, transportation of containers between the two ports is done via road and Maganlal claimed that the introduction of the feeder service set up by Chowgule Shipyard in Goa and Mumbai-based Shreyas Shipping would not only save on time for the transporting, but also cut down on transportation costs.
The service, which will ply five to six times a month between the two ports, is targeted at the state's export and importers, especially from the booming pharmaceutical industry setup in Goa.
Maganlal also said that once all the kinks in the feeder service operations channel were ironed out, there was ample potential to run a RORO service, on the lines of an existing service offered via rail.
"Along with containers, there is potential for transportation of cargo-laden trucks via the feeder service, which will greatly cut costs as well as offer ease of transportation," he said.
