Shanghai Pudong airport on track to be top global airfreight hub

CHINA is making considerable progress in realising its "11th Five Year Plan" aim of building Shanghai into a leading international airfreight hub as it will become the first airport in the world with two international express delivery hubs, reports the China Daily.

This development follows a recent announcement by global express and logistics giant, DHL, to establish its US$175 million DHL Express North Asia Hub at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

The 55,000-square metre facility, scheduled for completion in the second half of 2010, is intended to link north China to the north Asia region as well as provide connections to Europe and the US through DHL's wider group network, in a bid to capitalise on increasing regional and international trade..

The DHL announcement follows United Parcel Service initiative, which also involves building a similar Pudong facility.

The report noted that attracting some of world's top express and logistics companies to set up operations in Shanghai plays a crucial role in realising the goal of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China and the Shanghai Municipality to have the city become a major international air cargo hub.

Pudong airport is described by the China Daily as being the world's fastest growing international airport in terms of the volume of airfreight handled, and is said to currently handle 63 per cent of the China total.

In 2006, Shanghai's airport became the sixth busiest cargo airport in the world, with a throughput of 2.17 million tons. It had moved up rapidly from being ranked 26th with a throughput of 635,000 tons in 2002, according to Airports Council International (ACI).

"Our target is to handle six million tons of cargo a year by 2015," said Shanghai Airport Authority chairman Wu Nianzu in the report.