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Container Corporation of India, or CONCOR, has signed a deal with Vizhinjam International Seaport to build a Container Freight Station right next to the upcoming port in Kerala.
In simple terms, a Container Freight Station is where cargo is packed, stored, cleared by customs and prepared before shipping. It’s the support system that keeps port operations smooth and efficient.
Breaking it down: the facility, coming up on land provided by the Kerala government-backed port, will include warehouses, container yards, weighbridges and customs-bonded areas to handle import and export cargo. But this isn’t just about one building near one port. It’s part of a much bigger logistics story.
Indian ports have become faster and more competitive over the past few years. Today, nine Indian ports rank among the top 100 globally, up from just three in 2020.
Container dwell time, the average time cargo spends at a port, has fallen to around three days in India. That’s quicker than countries like the UAE and South Africa, and far ahead of the US and Germany. Port capacity has also almost doubled over the past decade, rising from about 872 million metric tonnes per annum in 2014-15 to nearly 1,630 million in 2023-24.
Government initiatives like Sagarmala and Maritime India Vision 2030 are pushing modernisation even further, while the Union Budget 2025 has added fresh incentives for shipbuilding, inland waterways and ship recycling.
