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CAPTAIN Gopinath, who set up India's first budget airline Air Deccan, has launched a dedicated air cargo venture in Nagpur, branded Deccan 360.

A report by India's Economic Times said that Capt Gopinath has already invested INR125 crore (US$25.4 million) in Deccan Express Logistics, an air cargo transportation company, and needs to raise an additional INR150 crore.

Deccan 360 is expected to hire 5,000 people over five years and initially the company plans to appoint 100 franchisees. The fleet will comprise three Airbus A310 planes and seven smaller ATR planes to connect 17 Indian cities and international destinations, including Hong Kong.

It said Deccan Cargo has also signed an agreement with the GMR Group to establish express cargo operations at Delhi and Hyderabad airports, but Nagpur is expected to serve as the main hub. They "will form an extensive multimodal storage, transportation and delivery network," the report said.

It added that Deccan Express Logistics will compete against established players such as Blue Dart, Gati, TNT Express and First Flight in India's domestic cargo and logistics market.

(Source: www.schednet.com)