Global integrator of container logistics, Maersk today announced the opening of a new Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Madurai which will serve as the reference point in the company’s growth in Tamil Nadu in the southern part of India.
Spread over a total area of about 70 acres, the state-of-the-art ICD is one of the largest in the country and will serve as a major infrastructural hub for Southern India. Equipped with a warehouse to support faster cargo clearance, the ICD will help reduce the overall logistics costs by up to 30 per cent, while also providing operational transparency to customers.
Steve Felder, Managing Director- Maersk South Asia said, “Our operations at ICD Madurai are aimed at reducing logistics costs for our customers by cutting the cargo transport journey by up to 150 km.”
Until recently, importers use to ship their cargo to Tuticorin Port where it was cleared by Customs, de-stuffed and stored in a warehouse. The cargo would then being moved by trucks from Tuticorin to its final delivery point in and around Madurai, as per customer’s requirement. Exporters too had to pick up empty containers from Tuticorin and bring them all the way to their factories. With ICD Madurai as a new acceptance point, Maersk will help move the cargo directly to Madurai, speed up the clearance process and manage de-stuffing and storage at the warehouse.
The new ICD will also provide customers with a choice of taking the container and delivering it at the final delivery point, and then returning thoe containers back in Madurai.
“We are also tapping into the hinterlands’ potential by opening up new trade possibilities and enabling ease of doing business for the trading community in the region,” said Felder.
