BENGALURU : Groundwork has begun to construct South India’s largest Multimodal Logistics Park (MMLP) at Obalapura on the northern outskirts of Bengaluru, with full-fledged construction slated to start in March.

Spread over 400 acres, the MMLP will provide a host of logistics, warehousing and cold storage facilities that are aimed at reducing overall logistics costs from 13% to 9% and making exports competitive. It will handle about 30 million metric tonnes of cargo by 2070.

The MMLP is expected to boost the industrial areas in Bengaluru, Tumakuru and the surrounding districts. Plus, it will eliminate the need for trucks coming into the city to deliver goods, reducing traffic congestion.

The Rs 1,770-crore project is being developed by Bengaluru MMLP Pvt Ltd, a special-purpose vehicle with three stakeholders. The NHAI’s National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML) owns the majority stake (51.29%), followed by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIDB) (32.38%) and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) (16.33%).

On August 29, 2023, the SPV signed an agreement with private firm PATH Bengaluru Logistics Park Pvt Ltd, which will build the project under the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis.

As per the agreement, the concessionaire will develop and operate warehousing facilities while the NHLML will only charge the lease.

As the name suggests, the MMLP will facilitate connectivity through different modes of transport. Its location is strategic: On its eastern flank, the KIADB is building an industrial park. On the south runs the Bengaluru-Hubballi-Mumbai railway line while the north is bound by the Satellite Town Ring Road’s Dobbspet-Doddaballapur-Hoskote stretch (NH 648). The STRR will help connect the MMLP with the Kempegowda International Airport (55 km away) and the Chennai port through the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway. Dobbspet, known for its mechanical, automobile and electrical engineering industries, is about 12 km away.