The project includes development of international airport and air cargo terminus, warehouses for air cargo, taxiways, aircraft maintenance workshop, pilot training facilities and flying club. Customs and excise commissionerates have approved operations of international air cargo while the finance minister has declared Nagpur as a custom airport.

City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco), which is a nodal agency for the project implementation has already requisitioned about 700 acres of the total 5,000 acres of land. RITES, a Government of India enterprise and Airports Authority of India will be the consultants while Container Corporation of India (Concor) has taken an in principle decision totake part in project as user and an investor in development of multi modal facilities. The union civil aviation minister, Anant Kumar has also accepted the proposal for various plans for development of Nagpur airport into an international airport.

State public works minister and Nagpur district guardian minister Nitin Gadkari told The Financial Express that a steering committee under his chairmanship to monitor the project development has already been set up and added that the committee comprises members from Vidarbha's Economic Development Council (VED), Cidco, Concor and others. The committee will meet this week to take stock of the situation.

Manoj Shah, chairman of econoimc affairs panel of VED which has initially mooted the concept said that Nagpur was ideal Hub site between South East Asia, Australia, Japan and Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Sharjah. "No other city in the country enjoys this locational advantage," he viewed and added that Nagpur was the only city to be connected with maximum number ofcities with population of more than 10 lakh in one and half hours of flying time.

Shah said that Nagpur offers a good cost advantage vis-a-vis any competing centres like Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai and added that the cost advantage will persist due to huge expansion possibilities and no limitations of land resource.

Shah said that the benefits accruing to the region were immense. It would provide employment to more than one lakh people and generate an annual revenue of over Rs 4,000 crore. Small scale industry would see a phenomenal boom and tourism would receive a fillip. "The freight city promises to change the face of the regions's economy," he added.

The freight city would be directly connected to the airport. A diversion from the main rain route would be created towards the hub and a station constructed. Outlets from the hub would open on the Wardha Road. Expressway connecting the industrial estates of Butibori, Hingana and Kalmeshwar were also under active consideration of thegovernment. In addition to cargo and passenger terminus, the freight city harbours scope for a distribution park, an export processing zone, an exhibition ground, an information technology park, a duty free zone, a commercial zone, a regional airlines hub and a trade centre.