First phase of Nagpur cargo hub to be over by 2008

The first phase of the cargo hub airport project in Nagpur would be completed in 2008, said R C Sinha, vice-chairman and managing director, Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC).

Addressing a press conference, Sinha said the first phase was slated to be completed in 2006 but has been delayed due to a spate of litigation against the project. Now that the Supreme Court has rejected all the petitions, "all legal hurdles in the way have been cleared," he said.

On March 22, the Maharashtra government will be allotting Rs 54 crore for the project in its supplementary Budget. A sum of Rs 20 crore is already with the Nagpur district collector.

The combined amount of Rs 74 crore will be used for land acquisition, Sinha said. For the next financial year, a demand for Rs 250 crore for the purpose has already been made, he said. Another Rs 100 crore will be needed for rehabilitation, he said.

The first phase of the project will have the basic infrastructure. The MADC has made a rough estimate of Rs 800 crore for laying roads (Rs 200 crore), electricity network (Rs 100 crore), water supply (Rs 200 crore), sewage and drainage (Rs 100 crore), telecom (Rs 25 crore) and open area development (Rs 100 crore).

A 100 mw coal-fired captive power plant, costing around Rs 300 crore, will also be set up, Sinha said. The MADC will not be taking this money from the government but will raise it through private partnership. With its land ownership, it will be an equity partner in all facilities at the cargo hub, he said.

Interestingly, the project would be completed in 2035 when the need for a second airstrip at Nagpur airport will be felt. The second airstrip will be developed if international flights cross 25 per day, he said. MADC has appointed SICOM to prepare a business plan for a road goods terminal at the cargo hub, Sinha said.

To be spread over 60 hectare, the terminal will serve as a hub for transshipment of road cargo. It will have parking space for 1,000 trucks, 14 godowns and one cold storage, offices for transport firms, forwarding agents, insurance agents and banks and all other required infrastructure, he said.

A rail terminal on similar lines is also planned, he said. A Delhi consultant appointed to look into the feasibility of a 'health city' in the area has submitted his report, concluding that it will be financially viable and popular, Sinha said. Some private hospitals have also shown interest in the health city, he said.

The MADC has also applied to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board for environmental clearance to its 100 mw captive power plant. The MPCB has conducted one hearing, in which it sought further information on 12 points. Information on 10 points has been collected, and the remaining two will be collected by the end of this month, he said.

Sinha said he was in talks with aircraft manufacturers ATR and Airbus to have their maintenance depots at the cargo hub. "We will give them land at a 33 per cent price of that in Bangalore, plus all the facilities," he said.

He said Air Deccan will be starting a flight from Nagpur, either to Nagpur or Aurangabad, in the first week of June. Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has also promised to allow government officers - who are eligible for IInd AC rail travel - to travel in Air Deccan, he said.

Sinha said the Central government is still working on the proposal to hand over the Nagpur Airport to MADC.

Regarding relocation of Indian Air Force, he said the matter would be resolved only by the defence minister.