The right to develop and manage a premium logistics center at Kwo Lo Wan in the South Cargo Precinct of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has been awarded, said Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA).
The awardee is a joint venture led by Cainiao Network, which is the logistics arm of Alibaba Group with shareholders including China National Aviation Corporation (Group) Limited and YTO Express.
The award follows an open tender exercise held earlier, which received strong bids from local and international players, AA said in a release.
Under the agreement, the joint venture will design, construct, finance, and manage the center.
Occupying a site of about 5.3 hectares and with an estimated gross floor area of 380,000 square meters, the center will be the third largest warehouse in Hong Kong. Scheduled to begin operation in 2023, the center will become the smart hub in Asia serving the fast-going global e-commerce business, said AA.
“This aligns with the cargo development strategy of HKIA to capture opportunities arising from increased cross-border e-commerce and related businesses, as well as the growth in the logistics business related to temperature-controlled products such as pharmaceuticals,” it further said.
The center is seen to further reinforce the cargo leadership position of HKIA, which will also benefit from the opportunities brought by the opening of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge later this year and the commencement of the three-runway system in 2024, it added.
The center is targeted to be future-proof, with high specifications to attract fast-growing air cargo segments including cross-border e-commerce and temperature-controlled airfreight handling.
It will feature ramp access to all floors and allow the use of large-scale robotics and automation. Environmental certification of high international standards will be adopted, such as BEAM Plus Gold and LEED Gold.
HKIA has been the world’s busiest cargo airport for eight consecutive years. In 2017, the airport’s cargo and airmail tonnage saw a year-on-year growth of 9.4% to over 5 million tonnes, the first airport ever to cross this milestone.
Image courtesy of HKIA
