MUMBAI: DP World aims to expand its Multimodal cargo services and infrastructure footprint in India as the country shrugs off Covid-19 woes and gears up for growth.
The Dubai-based Container Terminal Company will look at locations to set up more free trade zones, expand its Coastal Shipping footprint and also look at opportunities to expand its private rail segment, Mr. Rizwan Soomar, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, India Subcontinent and Sub-Saharan Africa, DP World was quoted recently as saying.
“We have set the foundation for an extremely good Multimodal network,” stated Soomar.
“We are one of the largest private rail operators and all of that has been built within the last 4-5 years.
We have got a 60-70% market share in Coastal Shipping right now.
We have got into short sea trades connecting Southeast Asia with India, India-Middle East Africa because these are the trades that will grow,” he stated.
In 2016, DP World announced a $1 billion investment in Indian projects.
In 2018, it announced with the state-run National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) that
it will invest $3 billion in infrastructure projects.
In July, NIIF purchased a 22.5% stake in DP World's India subsidiary, Hindustan Ports, for about
$300 million.
Mr. Soomar stated with a slowdown in Europe and China, demand is shifting to India which provides
DP world an impetus to setup free trade zones.
“We are building a FTZ in Nhava Sheva
(Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust). We are setting up
one in Chennai, which is almost 124 acres. We are setting up one in Cochin as well.”
Sourcing patterns are shifting from China and India
is in the forefront among the many alternatives locations, he stated.
The firm will help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with financing, underwriting the risk, he said.
“So, the lenders can lend directly to the MSMEs, cutting out that risk, and we will only deliver the goods
if the buyer pays up,” stated Soomar.
He went on to add that DP World keeps looking at inorganic growth but hasn't zeroed in on any particular company for its next acquisition.
