Nagpur: Nagpur’s central geography, expanding highway network and rising investor confidence placed Vidarbha firmly on India’s logistics map during the Advantage Vidarbha conclave. Industry leaders underscored the region’s potential in warehousing, industrial parks, cold storage and air cargo infrastructure. Balfour Manuel, managing director of Blue Dart, highlighted how logistics evolved into a core pillar of the modern economy rather than a mere transport function. Detailing Blue Dart’s scale, Manuel said the company operates around 2,600 trucks daily, delivers nearly 60 packages every second and flies 8 dedicated Boeing freighters every night across the country. He stressed that speed, seamless connectivity and execution were critical, noting that Nagpur’s central location gives it a natural advantage for express logistics.Manuel pointed to gaps that need urgent attention, including first- and last-mile connectivity at airports, limited air cargo scheduling for time-sensitive exports, inadequate airside cold storage and insufficient integration between industrial parks, rail terminals and warehouses. He called for a dedicated cargo ecosystem with predictable slots, freighter incentives and air cargo-friendly policies to unlock Vidarbha’s export potential. Emphasising inclusive growth, he also highlighted Blue Dart’s recent hiring of over 200 differently abled employees, calling logistics a major employment generator.Ashish Agrawal, director of XSIO Logistics Parks, shared his entrepreneurial journey from conventional warehousing to building integrated, Grade A logistics parks. He announced investments of around Rs2,000 crore in Nagpur across 5 logistics parks, all strategically connected to expressways, rail networks or the city. Agrawal said the real transformation came during the pandemic-driven e-commerce boom and later through a partnership with global investor Blackstone, which accelerated large-scale development in Nagpur.Looking ahead, Agrawal identified industrial parks as the next growth frontier, where pre-approved land, ready infrastructure and shell facilities could cut project timelines from years to just 90 days. He revealed plans for a 105-acre industrial park near the expressway, with interest from companies including solar manufacturing units. He also flagged challenges such as non-compliance, substandard construction quality and a lack of focus on sustainability in parts of the warehousing sector.
