NHAI floats bid for 44 freight corridors

In order to strengthen the inter-corridors and feeder routes to lessen the time and cost of freight movement across the country, NHAI has recently floated bids for the preparation of detailed project reports (DPRs) for 44 freight corridors under the transport ministry's Logistic Efficiency Enhancement Program (LEEP). The corridors aimed at enhancing freight transportation and the logistics infrastructure covering 15,000 km freight routes under the first phase and to start with, bids have been invited in 45 packages of about 300 km each. In order to ensure minimum time taken for conducting surveys, DPRs would be carried using latest and innovative technologies such as light detection and ranging (LiDAR) remote sensing method, satellite mapping and ground penetration radar (GPR). Such technologies will make data collection comprehensive with accurate measure points. In June this year, the ministry had shortlisted 15 locations with the highest freight movement for the development of multimodal logistics parks of Rs. 32,853-cr under LEEP, which was implemented by the road ministry last year in a bid to strengthen the logistics infrastructure of the country by improving cost, time, tracking, and transferability of consignments by the way of infrastructure, procedural, and IT-enabled mechanism.