Welspun One Logistics Parks (WOLP), forays into North India with the acquisition of two strategically located land parcels spread across Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and Farukhnagar in Haryana. The development that entails a cost of INR 180 Cr will be executed under Welspun One’s first Alternate Investment Fund (AIF) product “Welspun One Logistics Parks Fund I”, launched earlier this year. With a gross leasable area aggregating to approximately 8 lakh sq. ft., the projects shall be rented to blue-chip tenants from sectors such as e-commerce, 3PL, and FMCG / FMCD, among others. B.K. Goenka, Chairman, Welspun Group, mentions, “The demand for Grade-A warehousing multiplied amidst the pandemic, and as we move forward, it is only expected to mature further, in a big way. With the acquisition of land in Lucknow and Farukhnagar, not only are we offering warehousing facilities designed as per customer needs and in line with global standards, but these developments also mark an important milestone for the local communities as the parks have a potential to create employment opportunities for over 1500 people approximately across Northern India.”

GETEX – GREECE EGYPT TURKEY EXPRESS is starting from October 5th, 2021 ex Thessaloniki port. This sustainable and best-in-class option is aiming at fostering connection from North and Central Greece, Eastern Europe to Egypt and South Turkey and direct and fast connection between South Turkey and Greece with a gateway to Eastern European countries. Fleet: 1 vessel x 850 TEUS nominal capacity, Rotation: THESSALONIKI / DAMIETTA / ALEXANDRIA EL DEKHEILA / MERSIN / THESSALONIKI. Frequency: 10-day 1st calls: ETA Thessaloniki on Tue. 05/10/2021 | ETA Damietta/Port Said on Fri. 08/10/2021 | ETA Mersin/Iskenderun on Mon. 12/10/2021 Ocean TRANSIT TIME references: Thessaloniki to Damietta in 2 days | Thessaloniki to Mersin in 5 days | Mersin to Thessaloniki in 3 days

At a time when containers for international trade in goods are scarce following the COVID-19 pandemic, over 1,500 empty cargo containers are currently stuck at the dry port in Birgunj. Due to this, the only dry port in the country that is used for international trade is facing a ‘container congestion’. Some containers have remained unused at the dry port for over a year and a half. The dry port which has the capacity to handle as many as 1,500 containers at a time has now become a warehouse for empty containers and loaded containers. According to Pristine Valley Dry port, the company operating the dry port in Birgunj, the reason behind the congestion of empty containers is not due to carelessness but due to the containers which arrived during the lockdowns. They say that the problem increased after the Container Corporation India did not show any interest in taking back the old containers.

FedEx Express, announced that Kawal Preet, President of FedEx Express, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region, has signed the CEO statement of support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) – Equality Means Business. Established by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the United Nations Global Compact, the WEPs are a set of seven actions that companies choose to adopt to advance gender equality and empower women in the workplace and community. Preet endorsed the statement of support in the presence of regional leadership and team members in Hong Kong. Across the AMEA region, women are underrepresented in the establishment and growth of small business and cross-border trade. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised new barriers to building inclusive and prosperous economies and societies, resulting in an increase in closing the global gender gap by a generation from 99.5 years to 135.6 years.

The Association of Multimodal Transport Operators of India – AMTOI, held its 22nd AGM last month using a virtual platform. The following office bearers were elected for the year 2021-2022. Xerrxes Master-President, George Abrao-Vice President, Arun Kumar-Honorary Secretary, Devpal Menon–Honorary Treasurer. The program then moved on to a very interesting and informative “AMTOI Dialogues” session which was moderated by Xerrxes Master of AMTOI. The speaker for this session was N. Sivasailam, IAS (Ex- Special Secretary Logistics). He emphasized on Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) and how AMTOI as an Association can set its own standards and benchmarks in achieving SRO status. In addition, he also shared the importance of Digitization in the logistics industry as we are on the cusp of a Digital Revolution, popularly known as i4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It was a very interactive session where the audience also got a chance to put up their questions to him and get his expert opinion. The AGM concluded with Anjali Bhide, Hon. Secretary giving the vote of thanks.

Global cargo demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), was up 7.7 percent in August 2021 compared to August 2019 (8.6 percent for international operations). Cargo markets are reflecting a strong growth trend but pressure on capacity is rising, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) August 2021 data analysis. “Air cargo demand had another strong month in August, up 7.7 percent compared to pre-Covid levels. Many of the economic indicators point to a strong year-end peak season. With international travel still severely depressed, there are fewer passenger planes offering belly capacity for cargo. And supply chain bottlenecks could intensify as businesses continue to ramp up production,” said Willie Walsh, Director General, IATA.

After a much challenging time, Indian exports are finally making a significant recovery. As per reports, exports in the nation are likely to close the first half of the present financial year at around $195 billion, which is a significant achievement. Union Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal believes that exports are on course to reach the $400-billion target this year and a series of measures announced in recent months will pave the way for stronger growth. In 2020, with the outbreak of the pandemic, several logistical challenges surfaced, putting businesses in a tough spot. With the onset of COVID restrictions, shortage of containers and higher shipping rates, the exporters of our country seemed to be in murky waters, as they sought for some immediate aid from the government.

The Kingdom of Bahrain launched the fastest regional multi-modal logistics hub in the Gulf with only two hours of turnaround time for all containers. This essentially means that shipments can now be delivered to their destination in half the time and at 40% of the cost. With the launch of “Bahrain Global Sea-Air Hub,” Bahrain capitalizes both on its strategic position midway between European and Asian markets as well as on its proximity to regional target markets by establishing the most efficient multimodal sea-air transhipment hub in the region with a global reach. The newly launched hub relies on streamlined clearance procedures, optimized logistics, and full digitization to achieve an end-to-end lead time of just under two hours for goods transiting from Bahrain International Airport to Khalifa bin Salman Port, and vice versa.

Shankar Shinde is elected the new Chairman – FFFAI at 58th AGM held in Mumbai on September 24 The Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) in its 58th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on September 24, 2021 elected new Office Bearers of the Executive Committee for the year 2021-23. Shankar Shinde the then Chairman-Elect for the year 2019-21, has taken over as Chairman, FFFAI for the ensuing two years’ tenure. He is also elected Managing Director on IFCBA (International Federation of Custom Brokers Association). The other elected Office Bearers are, Dushyant Mulani, Chairman-Elect. – Brihanmumbai Custom Brokers Association . Vice Chairmen- S Nataraja – Chennai Custom House Agents’ Association, Amit Kamat – Goa Custom House Agents’ Association, Rajesh Verma – Ludhiana Custom House Agents’ Association, Sudip Dey – Calcutta Custom House Agents’ Association, Shashidhar V. Hebbar – Bangalore Custom House Agents’ Association Ltd., Kartik Pancholi – Ahmedabad Custom Brokers Association, Vinod Sharma, Hon. Secretary – Pune Custom House Agents’ Association, Sudhir Agarwal, Hon. Treasurer. – Nagpur Custom House Agents’ Association.

Tata Sons, the holding company of Indian multinational conglomerate Tata Group, has reportedly won the bid for the national carrier Air India, media reports said. The acquisition marks the return of Air India to Tata fold after 67 years. A panel of ministers has accepted a proposal from officials recommending the conglomerate ahead of an offer from Ajay Singh, the promoter of India’s airline operator Spicejet, according to reports by Bloomberg and Moneycontrol. The Committee of Ministers on the national carrier disinvestment, headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, approved the winning bid for the national airline. An official announcement is expected in the coming days. Air India was founded in 1932 as Tata Airlines, and the government nationalised the airline in 1953. The government is selling 100 per cent of its stake in the state-owned national airline, including Air India’s 100 per cent shareholding in AI Express and 50 per cent in Air India SATS Airport Services Private Ltd.