DHL Worldwide Express plans to invest euro 50 million in India

Chennai: Express and logistics company DHL Worldwide Express (I) will be investing euro 50 million to develop ultra modern cargo and document-handling facilities in Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore over a period of two-and-a-half years. The company will also invest in augmenting its truck fleet. Already the company has built one in Delhi at an outlay of Rs 20 crore.

"The 20,000-sq ft facility in Delhi will be inaugurated this month," says Chris Callen, country manager. Similarly Delhi also figures in the DHL''s Hong Kong-Delhi and Brussels cargo flight map. The express company is chartering the aircraft from Lufthansa airlines. "The volume of outbound cargo from Delhi is high compared to other Indian cities."

The Indian outfit is solely involved in imports and exports of cargo. It is not into domestic couriering of documents and cargo. The company handles around 5,000 tonnes of international cargo per year. "We have a 63-per cent share in the inbound and outbound express traffic in India which is estimated to be around euro 150 million per year. China is the largest source of inbound cargo traffic to India for us," he adds.

According to Callen, the company shipments consist of 70 per cent cargo and 30 per cent documents. DHL has launched a new service, Fast Forward, for import and export of shipments weighing 20 kg and above by providing significant savings with a wide range of innovative and flexible door-to-door solutions.

The other features of the new service include flexible delivery time and location for inbound shipments, free warehousing service of up to three days, one invoice consolidating all transportation charges in one currency, credit arrangement or usage of duty deferment accounts for import duties and taxes and track and trace.