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Hyderabad April 10 Gati Ltd, which has set a target of Rs 1,000 crore turnover by 2009, is developing a Central Distribution Centre at Nagpur that is fast emerging as a logistics hub.

“We are planning to make it operational in one year,” Mr Mahendra Agarwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, told reporters.

The company hopes to cash in on the central location of Nagpur. The upcoming multimodal international passenger and cargo hub airport there also shows the growing importance of Nagpur as a hub-and-spoke logistics centre.

Gati is likely to forge an alliance with Indian Airlines to start courier business. “We will jointly promote the courier business. This is part of our plan to give this segment a big push,” Mr Agarwal said. The two companies were in the process of finalising the modalities, including revenue sharing.

Mr Agarwal said the company plans to increase the turnover to Rs 1,000 crore by June 2009 from Rs 450 crore registered last year.

“This year (ending June 2007) we hope to cross the Rs 600-crore mark. Of this, Rs 100 crore is from the fuel stations business, which the company has hived off,” he said.

Of the Rs 1,000-crore, Gati expected Rs 200 crore from international business and Rs 100 crore from coast-to-coast business. The Express distribution and supply chain operations are expected to contribute Rs 700 crore.