Logistics giant DP World is moving into the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh to capture cargo flows through a new rail-linked inland logistics hub, according to a statement. The Emirati player inked an agreement with the state’s government at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Project details: The logistics hub will integrate rail, warehousing, cold chain, and cargo aggregation, linking central India directly to Nhava Sheva Port along India’s western coast to accelerate exports of manufactured and agri-goods. Nhava Sheva is the country’s largest container port, where DP World owns two terminals.

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Why this matters

The hub should cut transit times by 30-40% and reduce post-harvest agricultural losses, which would in turn improve export margins for Indian producers and throughput volumes for Gulf-owned logistics infrastructure.

For DP World, which already controls critical nodes in India’s maritime gateways and 26% of its container traffic as of last spring, the move into the inland state — which recorded USD 7.8 bn in exports last year — seems a play to secure cargo at the source and transport it along its own inland rail networks to its maritime export links. It’s also part of a wider strategy to move upstream into more remote logistics operations to bolster trade corridors linking global markets.

The bigger picture: At the end of last year, DP World committed to investing another USD 5 bn in India to boost its supply chain network. The news also comes just a week after the UAE and India agreed to broaden the scope of their trade and economic partnership and double their annual trade to USD 200 bn.

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