Cainiao Network-led group to build HK logistics hub

Cainiao Network is heading up a group that will build a $1.5 billion logistics centre at Hong Kong International Airport.

Alibaba Group’s logistics arm has formed a joint venture with China National Aviation Corp. (Group) and YTO Express, with the companies holding respective 51%, 35% and 14% stakes. Slated to go online in 2023, the facility will have an estimated gross floor area of 380,000 square metres. It will include an air-cargo processing centre, a sorting centre and order fulfilment centre, and will feature automated warehousing technology and automated temperature control.

The aim is for it to be able to handle tens of millions of packages a year and bring an additional 1.7 million tons of cargo per year to the Hong Kong airport when fully operational, supporting burgeoning activity by small and medium-sized companies involved in e-commerce, Cainiao says. 

It already has three global fulfillment centres operated by its partners in Hong Kong. And it also opened an airfreight route between Hong Kong and Belgium last month, the second international route set up for e-commerce parcels after the launch of one between Hangzhou and Moscow earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the company has unveiled plans to open hubs in Dubai, Hangzhou, Kuala Lumpur, Liège in Belgium and Moscow. Cainiao is planning to invest over RMB 100 billion to build out a smart logistics network that drives 24-hour delivery inside China and 72 hours to and from the rest of the world.

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