APL, the provider of ocean-container services, has launched an East Africa Express (EAX) service. The weekly offering will connect the Indian subcontinent and Arabian Gulf to East Africa. Cargo from the Far East and bound for East Africa will depart from Colombo, Sri Lanka and Nhava Sheva in India. The port of Nhava Sheva will also handle cargoes originating from the Indian subcontinent and Arabian Gulf, alongside ports in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. APL noted that gross domestic product growth in Africa has been running at about 5 percent for each of the past six years, and is projected to accelerate in East Africa to around 6 percent in 2007 and 2008. In another company development, Neptune Orient Lines, the parent of APL, has inaugurated a container rail freight service linking India's commercial centers of New Delhi and Mumbai. Operating as APL IndiaLinx, the service will provide rail connections with ships, shortening inland transit times. It will also offer first-and last-mile connections via trucking services to and from inland container depots. Although the initial focus will be on the New Dehli-Mumbai corridor, a Category 1 license will enable the service to run trains without limitations throughout India, the company said.
APL East Africa Service: http://www.apl.com
APL IndiaLinx: http://www.apl.com