Bengal emerging as warehousing hub

West Bengal, and particularly Kolkata and its suburbs, is fast emerging as a major warehousing and logistics hub. It is learnt that deals worth Rs. 500-700 crore have either been inked or are being finalised for warehouses along National Highway 2 (Delhi Road) and National Highway 6 (Bombay Road). Logistics-focussed global PE funds and developers such as Morgan Stanley, ESR (backed by Warburg Pincus), Allcargo Logistics, Indospace, Embassy and others are putting in big money. The Delhi Road, Old Delhi Road and Bombay Road areas are around 30-40 km from the city and are well connected to North Indian, Eastern and North-Eastern States. What has induced developers and PE funds to look at the eastern region are the advent of GST, better connectivity, higher penetration of e-commerce and a sound ‘hub and spoke’ model.