Uttar Pradesh aims to develop network of dry ports

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 3 : In a bid to turn the state into a logistics hub and boost exports, Uttar Pradesh will develop a network of dry ports.
Ahead of the Global Investors Summit to be held in February 2023, the state government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also received investment from international as well as domestic companies in this sector.
Uttar Pradesh is set to organize the summit in Lucknow from February 10 to 12, 2023.
It is noteworthy that in the new, Warehousing and Logistics Policy 2022 of the state government, investors have been encouraged for investment in warehousing and logistics as well as in dry ports.
Uttar Pradesh is a landlocked state with various export clusters and has a lot of potential for the development of dry ports in the state for convenient transportation of export cargo to sea ports.
Team Uttar Pradesh, which went abroad for the Global Investors Summit, has received investment proposals from many countries in this sector. In addition to this, a lot of domestic investors are eager to invest in dry ports.
Among others, concessions will be awarded by the state government for the development of dry ports.
"The state government will provide various concessions for the development of dry ports. About 100 percent exemption in stamp duty will be provided on the purchase of land or land taken on lease (for a minimum period of 10 years) for setting up ICD, CFS, AFS projects in the state. Similarly, 75 percent concession will be given in land use conversion charge and 75 percent exemption will be available in development fee," a state government statement said on Tuesday.
"Additionally, these projects will also be allowed up to 60 per cent ground coverage. However, all these proposed relaxations will be admissible only on submission of a bank guarantee of equivalent amount. Apart from this, capital subsidy at the rate of 25 percent will be provided on eligible capital investment. Meanwhile, new projects or industrial units will get 100 percent exemption in electricity duty for a period of 10 years."
In addition, each project will be paid a skill development subsidy in the form of reimbursement of an honorarium of Rs 1,000 per trainee per month for 6 months subject to a maximum of 50 trainees per year for five years, the statement said. If there is a need to build a police station, outpost in a dry port or air freight station, then the land will be made available free of cost to the developer by the concerned authority for its establishment.
A Multi Modal Logistics Hub (MMLH) at Dadri and a Multi-Modal Transport Hub (MMTH) at Boraki (Greater Noida) are also being developed, which will give further boost to this sector. India's first 'Freight Village' in Varanasi is being developed in an area of 100 acres. The village will act as a trans-shipment hub for inbound and outbound cargo, connecting the export centres of eastern Uttar Pradesh with the ports of eastern India.
By far, numerous foreign companies have expressed their desire to invest in the logistics sector in Uttar Pradesh. MoUs have also been signed with many investors regarding this. MoUs worth Rs 1300 crores has been signed with Saraf Group of UAE, while Hindustan Port Pvt. Ltd. has signed an MoU worth Rs.200 crores.
Apart from this, Mobility Infrastructure Group of US has signed MoUs worth Rs 8200 crores, while Best Bay Trucking has signed MoUs worth Rs 1000 crores. Moreover, Singapore's Star Consortium Pvt. Ltd. has inked MoU worth Rs 1000 with the UP government.
In addition to this, DP World of UAE has also agreed to invest in setting up a joint venture in the field of logistics and cargo. Along with this, he has also demanded land with highway and rail connectivity near Kanpur, so that a big logistics plant could be set up. Under the joint venture, the company will require 2000 acres of land. Investment in this sector will provide employment opportunities to thousands of people in Uttar Pradesh.