Management and Operation of Container Terminals & Multi-Modal Transport Logistics

Since 1985 when there was only one container terminal in India, today there are over 26 container terminals in operation and more being in various stages of planning and commissioning. The Inland Container Depots (ICD) and the Container Freight Stations (CFS) have grown exponentially over time. The “Sagarmala” project of the Government of India along with Dedicated Freight-Corridors (DFCs) and Cargo Hubs will increase the activities of cargo handling in containers many folds by way of additional new facilities consisting of new container handling facilities, ICDs and CFSs.

From the current volume of over 12 million Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) being handled by the Indian ports in 2017, this number is expected to go up to 22 million Twenty Foot Equivalent Units by 2020. This will be a phenomenal growth in this sector. China’s container throughput is expected to be between 250 million TEUS to 270 million TEUS by 2020. On this basis, if India’s foot-print in the world trade is to increase, the terminal facilities will have to increase ten-fold which in turn will lead to tremendous demand for the skilled man-power for ports and terminals.