DP World, India's Infrastructure Fund Plan $3 Billion Investment

Dubai - 12 February 2018: DP World Ltd. and India’s National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) plan to jointly invest up to $3 billion in the South Asian nation, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, said on day one of the sixth World Government Summit (WGS 2018) in Dubai.

“One of the problems that we currently face is in the last-mile delivery of cargo to the customer. However, we are looking at alternative ways of transporting cargo, such as inland waterways. India has an extensive network of rivers – we are building special vessels that can navigate these waterways,” Bin Sulayem expressed during a panel discussion titled ‘Smart Trade, Transport and Logistics Solutions’, moderated by CNN’s Richard Quest.

“55-60 percent of Indian cargo currently moves by road, and only 5-10 percent is marine cargo. The inland waterways project, which the World Bank has invested in, is picking up steam and will be a gamechanger for the logistics industry.” Sujoy Bose, CEO of NIIF said.

“We are creating a platform that will offer customers an efficient way to transport cargo. We are investing substantial capital into this project and combining it with global expertise to develop world-class facilities,” Bose said about the joint investment between NIIF and DP World.

The Indian government is investing heavily in infrastructure, which will drive growth in the logistics industry, Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion at India’s Ministry of Commerce & Industry Ramesh Abhishek said.

“Earlier, there was no direct port delivery, whereas today 33 percent of containers have direct port delivery, and 77 percent of containers are given direct entry for exporters. We want to increase this figure to 100 percent,” Abhishek added.

The World Government Summit 2018 runs from February 11 to 13 at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. The landmark event convenes more than 4,000 participants from 140 countries, including heads of state and governments, as well as top-tier representatives of 16 international organizations.