Vidarbha Economic Development Council to push for strong logistics policy in region

Nagpur: With a view to push the state government for a strong logistics policy for logistics sector in the region, the Vidarbha Economic Development Council (VEDC) has organized a conference on October 7 at a city hotel.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, VEDC president Devendra Parekh said, "There is great potential for a strong logistics hub in Nagpur district. Active players in this sector are unorganized because there is no policy at the moment."

Union minister for transport Nitin Gadkari will be present at the conference along with chairman of Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) Deepak Mhaiskar and regional officer, Nagpur (Chhattisgarh), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) M Chandrashekhar.

According to Parekh, there are around 10 to 12 major companies in the logistics sector who are contemplating to set up warehouses on a total area of about 100 acres around the city. The projects are on hold because there is no clear policy and moreover there is also no metro development plan in place, said Parekh.

VEDC's immediate past president Vilas Kale informed that currently there are only a handful for companies operating in Nagpur with each having warehouses as big as 4.5 lakh sq.ft. He said, "We want the government to treat logistics business as an industry."

"The good policy will also create opportunity for young entrepreneurs to step in the industry," added Kale.