Airport and navigation charges todevelop Nagpur airport into a cargoand passenger hub, the Financial Expressreported. The exemption applies forairlines undertaking cargo operationsto and from the Nagpur airport andextends to both domestic and internationalsectors.

According to civil aviation ministerPraful Patel, work on the new cargoterminal will start in a few months.Patel also said that the governmentwas looking at opening up the aviationsector more and was already deliberatingallowing 74 percent FDI in aircargo, non-scheduled operation andsea planes, among others.

According to the Airbus MarketOutlook for the next 20 years, thenumber of dedicated freighters inIndia will increase from the currenteight to around 165 aircraft by 2025.Public sector carriers, Indian Airlinesand Air India, have already firmed uptheir plans to convert some of theirageing fleet into dedicated freightersand use Nagpur as the centre of theircargo operations. Low cost carriers,such as Air Deccan, Go Air, SpiceJetand Indigo, also plan to launch cargooperations.