DHL opens its bigger US$50 million Incheon air hub

DHL has opened its US$50 million state-of-the-art DHL Express Incheon Gateway located within the free trade area of Incheon International Airport.

The new facility spans 20,000 square metres and is more than five times larger than the previous DHL Express facility in Incheon International Airport, a company statement said.

The DHL Express Incheon Gateway will serve as a consolidation and distribution centre from South Korea to markets such as Mongolia, Northern China and the Russian Far East. In addition, the gateway will further strengthen the intercontinental and inter-regional service connecting South Korea with the US and Europe.

"Between 2004 and 2008, our international express volumes in South Korea have grown by over 50 per cent. As we expect to maintain our growth momentum, our investment in this facility is a strategic move which ensures that DHL is well positioned to tap into the growing demand and Incheon's increasing role as a logistics centre in Asia," said DHL Express Asia Pacific CEO Dan McHugh.

Incheon International Airport has seen a steady increase in air cargo and is projecting a 67 per cent rise in its handling capability from 2.7 million tonnes in 2005 to 4.5 million tonnes by 2010, according to the Incheon International Airport Corporation.

Equipped with a fully-automated sorting system for parcels that includes automatic weight-measuring and x-ray devices, the DHL gateway has the maximum capacity to sort 13,500 pieces per hour, a fivefold increase from the volume handled at the previous facility.

The Incheon gateway also houses a 24/7 Quality Control Centre (QCC) which is equipped with the Quality Shipment Monitoring System (QSMS), a global shipment management system that enables DHL to monitor shipments in real-time. QSMS has the capability to alert DHL hubs, gateways and service centres in the event of potential delays or changes to the status of shipments.

Our DHL Incheon Gateway is a vital link for our network of three hubs and over 50 Express gateways in the region, said DHL Express vice president Stephen Fenwick.

Source: Transportweekly