Operations at DHL Express’s €131 million upgraded gateway at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport have begun.
The Incheon Gateway is the biggest DHL Express investment in the country and makes the facility the largest gateway in Asia Pacific. It has more than tripled in size, handling 3.5 times more cargo and features digitised and automated systems that are reducing delivery time of imported goods by 30 minutes.
The expansion aims to address the increasing air cargo demand at the Gateway, a result of growing overseas trade in South Korea and an increase in international express import and export with Asia-Pacific countries, including Singapore, Japan, China, Australia and Taiwan.
“Between 2011 and now, the transit cargo handling volume we handled in the country grew more than threefold,” said DHL Executive Vice President of Network Operations and Aviation, Asia Pacific, Sean Wall.
“The opening of the expanded Incheon Gateway arrives at a right time, as it plays an important role to facilitate regional and intra-Asia trade, particularly for the Northeast Asian region, including Dalian, Qingdao, Wuxi, Ulaanbaatar, and Guam.”
The enhanced Incheon Gateway now boasts a gross floor area of 59,248 square metres and a handling capacity of 28,400 pieces per hour. It includes a 5.5 km-long conveyor belt and 19 automated X-ray inspection machines, helping connect global DHL hubs through seven dedicated DHL aircraft and 40 aircraft from partner airlines.
To minimise greenhouse gas emissions, the facility is partly powered by solar energy. A 1-megawatt solar power generator, the first of its kind at Incheon International Airport, has been installed, producing energy that covers roughly 30 per cent of the facility’s consumed energy,
“Since its initial opening in 2009, the handling volume of import and export at Incheon Gateway has increased by more than 90 per cent in 2022,” said Country Manager of DHL Express Korea, ByungKoo Han.
“With this expansion, we are confident that we can adeptly manage the surge in shipment volume and cater to the increasing demand for international express delivery over the coming decade.”
In other news, newly established freight routes in China and central Asia are expected to boost trade growth.