Changi airport to get $46m cargo hub

A new US$46.65 million cargo hub is to be built at Changi Airport, as Singapore positions itself to take advantage of an upturn in the air freight industry, reported the Straits Times.

The facility, within the airport's free trade zone, will be operational in the first half of next year, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Changi Airport Group announced jointly.

The Straits Times understands that it will be operated solely by global logistics giant FedEx under a 10-year lease agreement. When contacted, a Hong Kong- based spokesman for the firm neither confirmed not denied this.

Currently, FedEx operates out of several locations in Singapore including Changi South and Changi Airport's existing airfreight centre.

Construction of the facility will be undertaken by Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (A-Reit) and is expected to cost about $28 million.

On top of that cost, Changi Airport will spend more than $19 million to build new airside infrastructure, which includes two new aircraft parking bays to give FedEx more convenient access to its aircraft.

This is important as the ability to provide fast turnaround is vital in this business, the airport authorities said.

They added that this will "facilitate the unrestricted flow of cargo to and from aircraft, enabling air express companies to shorten the processing time for time-sensitive shipments to achieve greater efficiency and speed in transporting express cargo".

The new complex with a gross floor area of 26,277 sq m will sit on a 80,000 sq m plot of land that the CAAS has allocated for the development of the hub and its supporting airside infrastructure.

The other main cargo facilities at Changi are the Changi Airfreight Centre and the Airport Logistics Park.

Recently, the airport's biggest ground handler, SATS, also opened a $12.83 million centre to handle perishable cargo such as fresh food and flowers as well as pharmaceuticals.

The development of the new cargo hub comes at a time of recovery and growth in Asia's air cargo business.

In a recent report, the 17-member Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said that preliminary data for November showed that demand for international cargo grew by 10.6 per cent compared with the same month in 2009.

On average, member carriers filled 70.7 per cent of available cargo capacity.

AAPA director-general Andrew Herdman, said: "Asia-Pacific-based airlines have led the industry recovery this past year, benefiting from robust demand for both business and leisure travel, particularly in markets to, from and within Asia."

The air cargo market has "rebounded very strongly" he said, although the monthly growth rates are beginning to moderate as supply chain inventories are rebalanced.

Overall, for the first 11 months of last year, international air cargo volumes recorded a 26.3 per cent growth over the same January-November period in 2009.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)