The Indian Railways aims to generate around £3 billion additional revenue over the next five years and afterward nearly £3 billion per year through the new long term land lease policy, which will fast-track setting up of 300 cargo terminals. The additional revenue generation will be on account of increased freight movement by railways, officials said.
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the target of developing 300 Gati Shakti terminals within the next five years is very much possible, considering that nearly 150 players have submitted proposals and have shown interest for setting up of terminals. He said this will boost the cargo movement on the railway network and help bring down overall logistics cost. The Union cabinet had approved a policy on long-term leasing of Railways land for 35 years for setting up cargo-related projects and this can be extended for another 35 years. “Till now, such players needed to get the lease renewed every five years. When we had consultations with interested players for the 300 Gati Shakti cargo terminals, they proposed a long-term lease for 35 years. This is a win-win policy for all. Further, the existing terminal holders such as Concor, Food Corporation of India (FCI), Coal India and SAIL, are public sector undertaking units and there is a 30-year lease policy in place for them.
