Overview
- The CII–Knight Frank report, released Friday, estimates India will need 216 multimodal logistics parks (MMLPs) by 2047, each handling about 16–17 million tonnes a year, to meet long‑term rail freight targets.
- MMLPs are hubs that combine rail, road, warehousing and mechanised handling to aggregate cargo and connect factories to high-capacity rail lines; the report says this integration can reduce terminal dwell times by more than 90 percent.
- The study finds that linking MMLPs with Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) can lower door‑to‑door logistics costs by up to about 43 percent compared with road-only movement, which would help sectors such as FMCG, automotive and e‑commerce.
- Progress on the parks is slow: only five MMLPs are under development and a government official has said plans have been scaled back to nine because of land acquisition and first/last‑mile connectivity problems.
- The report says India’s near‑decade of corridor investment — roughly USD 360 billion — has cut logistics costs to about 10–10.7 percent of GDP and improved global rankings, and it urges faster roll‑out, private investment, clustering and stronger interagency coordination to turn corridor gains into lower costs for industry and consumers.