WCIL inaugurates cargo terminal at Kolkata port

Kolkata, Sep 11 (PTI) Western Carriers (India) Ltd on Friday said it has opened a general cargo terminal at the GCD Yard of the Kolkata Dock System under the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority, marking the logistics company’s entry into eastern India.

Developed and operated under a 15-year agreement with the port authority, the terminal is WCIL’s first operational facility on the east coast and is designed to handle dry bulk, break-bulk and various container categories, it said.

The facility, connected to the Eastern Railway network through the Sealdah and Budge Budge sections, is expected to strengthen cargo movement to and from the Kolkata port across domestic and EXIM segments.

Phase I of the terminal is fully operational, while Phase II

development is expected to begin within 90 days, the company said.

WCIL plans to undertake further civil development at the facility with an initial estimated investment of Rs 13.68 crore, subject to revision as the project progresses.

The company said the terminal would help increase rail-based freight movement through the Kolkata port and improve integration of road, rail and port logistics.

The Kolkata facility complements WCIL’s 42-acre multimodal cargo terminal at Devaliya in Gujarat, strengthening its presence across the east-west freight corridor, it added. PTI BSM RBT