Why in the News?

• Under the PM Gati Shakti initiative, the Multi Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) at Nagpur, Maharashtra, began commercial operations to boost seamless connectivity and reduce travel time across transport modes.

Key Points:

About MMLP Nagpur:

⇒ The Multi Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) Nagpur is developed by National Highway Logistics Management Limited (NHLML).

⇒ NHLML, a wholly owned subsidiary of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), has partnered with a private developer to build the MMLP over 150 acres in three phases under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

⇒ The total concession period is 45 years, with a project cost of Rs 673 crore.

⇒ Phase-I is being developed with an investment of Rs 137 crore.

⇒ The project is expected to generate employment, support regional economic development, and position Nagpur as a logistics hub within central India.

Strategic Importance:

⇒ MMLP Nagpur aims to enhance multi-modal freight movement, reducing both logistics cost and transit time.

⇒ It will provide modern warehousing and real-time tracking capabilities to improve the efficiency of India's freight ecosystem.

Multi Modal Logistics Park (MMLP):

About:

• Developed under a ‘Hub & Spoke’ model, the MMLP will integrate multiple modes of freight transport through highways, railways & inland waterways.
• The Multi Modal Logistic Park project is poised to develop state-of-the-art large scale warehousing facilities for different types of commodities, to become a one stop solution for all services related to cargo movement like warehousing, custom clearance, parking, maintenance of trucks etc.
• It will have all the facilities like warehouses, railway siding, cold storage, custom clearance house, yard facility, workshops, petrol pumps, truck parking, administrative building, boarding lodging, eating joints, water treatment plant, etc.

Focus:

• The MMLPs will focus on a technology driven implementation for a state-of-the-art freight management system.
• Many value-added services like packaging, repackaging and labelling will be available in these projects.
• MMLP will be a freight handling facility for mechanised material handling and value-added services along with other associated facilities.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI):

• NHAI was established under the NHAI Act of 1988 under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• It oversees the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) and other projects.
• India's national highway network covers about 146,000 kilometers.

PM GatiShakti:

• The PM Gati Shakti, launched in October 2021 is a transformative Rs. 100 lakh crore initiative aimed at revolutionising India’s infrastructure over the next five years.
• It has been developed as a Digital Master Planning tool by BISAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics).
• It has been prepared in a dynamic Geographic Information System (GIS) platform wherein data on specific action plans of all the Ministries/Departments have been incorporated within a comprehensive database.
• The plan seeks to accelerate project completion, reduce timelines, and enhance India’s global competitiveness by breaking down inter-ministerial obstacles.
• The vision of PM GatiShakti is to create a world-class infrastructure that improves the ease of living, boosts economic growth and makes Indian businesses more competitive.