Logistics giants Pristine Logistics and Summit Alliance sign MoU
Pristine Logistics & Infraprojects Limited (PLIL), India, and Summit Alliance Port Limited (SAPL), Bangladesh, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on August 27, 2023, which will be the basis for formation of Joint Venture Companies to develop Rail-Linked Inland Container Depots (ICDs), Container Freight Stations (CFS) and Multi Modal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) at strategically important locations in Bangladesh.
Through development of world class rail-based cargo hubs, PLIL and SAPL seek to enhance the existing logistics infrastructure in Bangladesh and facilitate the landside needs of exporters and importers by providing long-haul rail services from Indian locations to the border and interiors of Bangladesh, in addition to warehousing, consolidation, labelling and packaging, palletisation, import and export bonding, multimodal transport options of rail and road, empty storage, container repair, first and last mile distribution, and connectivity to gateway ports.
The Joint Venture Companies are likely to be operationalised by mid to third quarter of 2024 subsequent to obtaining the requisite approvals from authorities in both countries.
Pristine Logistics & Infraprojects is one of the biggest and fastest growing integrated Rail Terminal Operators in India, providing end-to-end multi-cargo logistics services which are pivoted around rail terminals, both in India and Nepal. Operational since 2010, Pristine Logistics & Infraprojects has a proven track record in the development and operations of Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and Private Freight Terminals (PFTs). PLIL currently operates five Logistics parks through subsidiary companies in Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Ludhiana (Punjab), Siliguri (Bengal), Patna (Bihar) and Birgunj (Nepal). PLIL has its own fleet of trains, trailers and domestic containers that transport both containerised cargo (ex-im & domestic) and non-containerised cargo (liquid, break-bulk and bulk). Pristine’s multimodal services offer a combination of rail & road (including specialised rail transport in Dwarf containers), while its ICDs and PFTs provide warehousing, storage, container repairs, consolidation and first-last mile distribution.
PLIL recently acquired SICAL group of companies, with well-established CFSs in Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Tuticorin.
Pristine Group of Companies has various ISO certifications and diligently works towards reduction in carbon emissions, conservation of water resources and waste management. Pristine Group has adopted and will continue to apply global best practices regarding the environment, employee and visitor health, sustainability, and social standards.
Summit Alliance Port Limited is a Bangladeshi company and a dominant market leader in the off-dock sector in the country, handling over 25% of total export cargo and 15% import cargo of Bangladesh’s entire containerised volume. Principal activities of the company are inland container depots with facilities for empty container storage and container freight stations for handling both export and import cargo in Bangladesh. Summit Alliance Port Limited is a publicly traded company on both the Dhaka and Chittagong Stock Exchanges. In addition to its facilities in Chittagong Port and a river terminal on the banks of Dhaleshwari River in Munshiganj District, the company operates and manages river terminals in India. In November 2018, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), in a Public-Private Partnership, handed over the management of Garden Reach Terminal in Kolkata and Kalughat Terminal in Patna to Summit Alliance Port East Gateway (India), a subsidiary of Summit Alliance Port Limited, informed a release.
Source: Exim News Service: New Delhi, Sept. 5