Logistics cos to invest 50 bln rupees on expansion

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Logistics firms in India plan to invest about 50 billion rupees over the next three years to expand warehousing operations across the country, a senior official of an industry body said on Wednesday.

The investment has been committed by various players such as Future Group, Gati Ltd, AFL, Safe Express and a few others, Tushar Jani, chairman, CII, Western Region Logistics Sub-Committee, said.

The investment will lead to 30 mln sq feet of warehousing space in India over the next three years, he said.

However, India is still likely to face a deficit of 50 million sq feet of warehousing space after the expansion as procurement of land is still difficult, Jani, who is also the chairman of SCA Group of Companies, said.

"About half a million manpower is needed by the industry in the next 3-5 years," Jani added.

(Reporting by Aniruddha Basu and Rajesh Kurup; Editing by Sunil Nair)