Port of Antwerp takes road show to India

With an annual freight volume of 199 million tonnes the port of Antwerp is the second-largest in Europe. Its central location in the heart of Europe makes it possible to serve a huge consumer market very quickly: an essential advantage for exporting countries that target the European consumer. To help convince such countries of the unique position occupied by Antwerp in the European port landscape, the Antwerp port community will visit India for a road show from 9 to 13 February 2015. India generated a record five million tonnes of cargo in Antwerp in 2014.

“The port of Antwerp has long been convinced of the economic growth potential of India,” said an official press release. In 2006 the Port Authority appointed its first full-time representative for India in the city of Mumbai. The western Indian cities of Mumbai, Pune and Nasik together form the “Golden Triangle” of India which with industries such as IT services, car making, manufacturing and biotech is one of the country’s most important economic regions. Mumbai is one of the Top 10 commercial cities in the world. According to the official release the Port Authority will be holding an investment seminar in Mumbai on 12 February, following on from Pune on 10 February. In the Mumbai event the Port Authority together with representatives from Flanders Investment & Trade and the Belgian Ministry of Finance will present the advantages of the port of Antwerp as an excellent investment location. The annual Port of Antwerp Reception will be held in Mumbai on 12 February, at which Antwerp port companies will have the opportunity to network with their Indian opposite numbers. The highpoints of the programme will the presentation of a

“Exporters view ports as just one link in the overall supply chain, with the main criteria being efficiency and reliability. In other words, as a port you have to ensure that the goods are handled in a transparent way and that they reach the end customer quickly,” explains Antwerp port alderman Marc Van Peel who is taking part in the mission. With the Antwerp Port Community System, which offers a network of solutions for electronic communication within the supply chain, the port is able to offer a unique tool for this. At the end of 2014 the port of Antwerp in collaboration with AMTOI (Association of Multimodal Transport Operators of India) launched the India Nation platform to facilitate contacts and exchange of information between Antwerp and Indian forwarders, shippers and logistics companies, thus streamlining the flow of goods through the port of Antwerp.