DHL's expanded Hong Kong hub fully operational

DHL said Monday its expanded central Asia hub at Hong Kong International Airport is fully operational.

The hub's size has been doubled to 35,000 square meters, which is about the size of 120 tennis courts. It will have capacity to handle 40 million shipments per year, with an average throughput of 75,000 pieces per hour.

The facility is one of the main intercontinental hubs in DHL Express global air network, connecting the Asia Pacific region with the other regions in the world, the company said. It will also serve as one of the main Asian bases for DHL's airline partners Polar Air and AeroLogic, who will operate growing transpacific and Euro-Asian trade lanes from October this year and spring 2009, respectively.

Sixty percent of express cargo processed by the Central Asia Hub is intra-Asia Pacific shipments and DHL expects that figure to grow alongside rising intra-regional trade.

With over 40 percent market share and $2.2 billion invested in the region, DHL's $210 million investment in the CAH provides the core backbone to further enhance service excellence and will assist in extending our market-leading position in Asia Pacific, said Dan McHugh, chief executive officer of DHL Express Asia Pacific, in a statement.

The hub is four hours flight time or less to most major cities in the Asia Pacific region.

DHL said its complementary hub in Pudong in Shanghai will be completed in 2010. 

Source: American Shipper