Banur-Tepla stretch a warehousing hub

Vijay C Roy

Chandigarh, January 11

Three years ago, the logistics industry had never imagined that Banur-Tepla cluster — then a nondescript place in Punjab — would be a hub of warehousing facilities. Today, 43 warehousing and logistics facilities are based here, besides nearly a dozen more are under construction.

Booming demand

The warehousing industry in Punjab with its inherent advantages of strategic location and connectivity is in a phase of steady and accelerated growth because of the growing demand from sectors such as e-commerce, FMCG, retail and manufacturing. — Anshuman Singh, CMD, Stellar value chain solutions pvt ltd

According to the industry, the state warehousing market, which until recently catered majorly to the food produce, has been on the cusp of transformation owing to increased demand from e-commerce, FMCG, manufacturing and retail. Warehouse service providers believe the place has robust catchment areas in and around Punjab such as Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial belt — the prime pharmaceutical and FMCG hub — and Ludhiana — a key industrial hub of the country. This is the reason it has become a cynosure of many facility providers as it is strategically located from supply chain and logistics perspective.

The latest to join the bandwagon is tech-driven consumer supply chain firm Stellar Value Chain Solutions, which recently inaugurated its full-fledged modern Grade A warehousing facility spread across six lakh sq ft. Last year, Safexpress had launched its ultra-modern logistics park here.