Professional.
Up to date. Independent.

A reorganisation plan is to save the Swiss Cargo Sous Terrain freight transport project. A radical revamp of the concept was announced last week. Instead of autonomous electric vehicles, goods are now to be transported using a cable haulage system. This should reduce the investment costs by around a third to around 25bn Swiss francs.

Apparently, simulations have now shown - nine years after the start of the project (CEP News 46/16) - that the use of the originally planned self-driving transport vehicles could lead to traffic jams in the tunnel. In addition, the electric trolleys would have generated a lot of heat when travelling and loading, which is why the tunnels would have had to be extensively cooled and ventilated.

The new cable car system would definitely prevent the problem of traffic jams. Rail-guided trolleys would be pulled through the tunnel at intervals of 60 metres on a circulating wire cable. Each trolley could carry three pallets. 

Even if the new concept initially sounds logical and the preliminary focus will be on the first, approximately 70-kilometre section between Härkingen and Zurich, market observers see considerable problems for a horizontally aligned cable pull system of this length.

Whether the system redesign will save the project remains to be seen. The only thing that is certain at this stage is that the project will be delayed by at least five years due to the reorganisation. The first goods will not be transported in the tunnel system until 2036 at the earliest.

Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund has secured a majority stake in Dubai-based logistics company Aramex. At the end of January, ADQ Holding Co. submitted a purchase offer to Aramex shareholders via its subsidiary Q Logistics Holding Co. (CEP News 04/25).

By the end of March, Q Logistics had been able to purchase 40.57 per cent of Aramex shares under the offer, thus reaching an important milestone in the takeover. Together with the 22.69 per cent stake already held since 2002 (CEP News 06/22), the fund holds 63.26 per cent of Aramex and thus exceeds the minimum acceptance requirements stipulated in the merger and acquisition rules of the stock exchange supervisory authority. Q Logistics also announced that it will continue to accumulate Aramex shares.

At the beginning of January, 14 cities in the Netherlands introduced ZE zones (zero-emission zones) for commercial vehicles (CEP News 44/24). 15 other cities and municipalities are to follow suit. In this connection, fines were to be imposed from 1 May on businesses that enter the ZE zone with a polluting van or lorry (emission class 4 or lower).

The commencement date for the fines has now been pushed back until the beginning of July. The government also wants to make things easier for vehicles in emission classes 5 and 6. This means that vans in emission class 5 will be allowed to enter ZE zones until 1 January 2027. For vans in emission class 6, the deadline is to be extended by at least another year, to January 2028, or possibly even January 2029.

Antitrust proceedings against major Indian Q-com services Zomato and Swiggy. The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) has filed an antitrust complaint against Zomato subsidiaries Blinkit and Zepto as well as Swiggy Instamart. The platforms are accused of operating with predatory pricing and high discounts, making it impossible for traditional retailers to compete with them.

The AICPDF represents 400,000 wholesalers who supply 13 million retail outlets in India with consumer goods from companies such as Nestlé, Unilever and Tata. According to the complaint, a jar of Nescafé, for example, which small retailers sell for Rs 622 (6.55 euros) is available for Rs 514 at Zepto, for Rs 577 at Swiggy Instamart and for RS 625 at Blinkit:

If the Competition Commission CCI finds merit in the complaint, it could ask the companies to disclose their pricing strategies, among other things.

Market observers estimate that Blinkit has a market share of 40 per cent, Zepto 29 per cent and Swiggy 26 per cent of the Indian Q-com market.

Upheaval in the Chinese Q-com industry. In quick succession, three of the country's major online platforms - JD.com, Meituan and Ele.me - have unveiled plans to offer their couriers social insurance. According to the »South China Morning Post« (20 February), around 200m gig couriers in China are currently working without fixed employment contracts and the associated benefits.

E-commerce giant JD.com, which entered the food and meal delivery business in early February (CEP News 08/25), plans to gradually introduce the five Chinese social security and housing benefits for its full-time couriers. Part-time couriers will also receive accident and health insurance.