Nagpur: GMR Aero, which has taken over operations of Nagpur airport — a 100-year-old facility built during the World Wars — plans to woo global logistics players like US’ FedEx and United Parcel Services (UPS) to kickstart its cargo operations here. The idea is to have freighters — aircraft that exclusively carry cargo — operate from Nagpur and leverage its potential as a global transit hub.GMR is bullish on Nagpur’s geographical location and is taking cue from the British’s wartime strategy to lay an airstrip here. Later, IAF adopted the tactic by parking its IL76 jumbo transporter at Nagpur till late 2000s. As global logistics players check in, the airport is expected to realise the more than three-decades plan to exploit Nagpur’s location for developing a multi-modal cargo hub through a private investor.GMR is also open to developing the airport as an ATF refuelling hub, which in turn can draw more flights and increase connectivity. Hyderabad, where GMR is an operator, is an ATF hub. To have one at Nagpur, the company may also seek slashing of value-added tax (VAT) rates on fuel up to 1% as was done in Telangana.“Nagpur has the potential to generate local cargo and tap the huge catchment area straddling Central India. Starting with domestic cargo, eventually the company would explore prospects of bringing international planes to Nagpur which may serve as a global cargo transit hub,” said GMR Group’s executive director SGK Kishore.GMR would also push for multimodal connectivity with cargo taking off directly after getting statutory clearances. As airlines increase their fleet, the large space available at Nagpur would be used for building night-parking facilities. “There are plans to build a capacity to park 100 planes. These can be all types of flights from long haul to short distance,” said Kishore. Having planes from various airlines parked here can add connectivity to newer centres too, added a company official.“GMR will launch Nagpur’s potential before the world and scale up operations from here. One of the biggest advantages is the presence of a special economic zone (SEZ), for cargo generation. From the passenger growth point of view, GMR is banking on Nagpur’s economic strides and its status as an education hub. The company would even draw international flyers to the city for medical tourism, adding to more stations,” he said.As cargo business picks up, it is expected to attract airlines carrying cargo in the belly, offsetting passenger traffic. If there is enough cargo from a certain station, the airlines can operate with lesser passenger load too, the source said.
