Dry port
Also called: Inland container depot, ICD · Topic: Infrastructure: Transport, Communications and Energy · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A dry port is an inland terminal that is linked to one or more seaports by rail or road. It is also called an inland container depot (ICD). Cargo from the hinterland, meaning the inland areas far from the coast, gets customs clearance and container handling there. The sealed container then travels straight to the seaport. This eases crowding at seaports and saves traders from travelling to the coast for paperwork.
Example
An exporter in an inland industrial town can load goods into a container at a nearby ICD and clear customs there. The container then goes by train to a seaport such as JNPT in Navi Mumbai and is loaded straight onto a ship.
Don't confuse with
- Multimodal logistics park (MMLP): An MMLP is a larger freight hub that combines several transport modes with warehousing and value-added services. A dry port's main job is customs clearance and container handling for inland cargo.
Related concepts
- Multimodal logistics
- Logistics cost
- Logistics Performance Index
- Multimodal logistics park
- Free trade and warehousing zone
- Industrial corridor
- Plug-and-play infrastructure
- Cold storage