Delivery conglomerate DHL Express opened a new package-handling center featuring advanced automated technologies and sustainable designs in Tuen Mun on Tuesday, aimed at meeting the growing demands arising from the city’s three-runway system, to be completed this year, and from the booming e-commerce markets in the region.

The DHL Express West Service Centre, costing HK$1.5 billion ($191.5 million), is a major logistics facility the company has built over the past six months, following the expansion of its Central Asia Hub at the Hong Kong International Airport, which was completed in November.

From the new location, vehicles can reach the HKIA in about 20 minutes via the nearby Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Tunnel, which greatly speeds up the delivery of cross-boundary packages, said Boris Chui, vice-president of operations at DHL Express Hong Kong

The 13,111-square-meter facility, with over 270 employees and a fleet of 87 vehicles, operates 90 delivery routes across the northwestern New Territories. It can handle over 50,000 shipments a day thanks to a series of efficiency-boosting technologies, including a fully automated sorting system as well as reweighing and dimensioning machines for expediting cargo examinations.

Assisted by the upgraded equipment, the center’s sorting capacity is double that of its predecessor, a delivery hub in Cheung Sha Wan.

From the new location, vehicles can reach the HKIA in about 20 minutes via the nearby Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Tunnel, which greatly speeds up the delivery of cross-boundary packages, said Boris Chui, vice-president of operations at DHL Express Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is pivotal to DHL’s delivery business in the Asia Pacific region. The Tuen Mun center, along with the company’s expanded Central Asia Hub at the HKIA, is a shot-in-the-arm, strengthening the delivery giant’s cargo transportation and handling capabilities in the region, said Andy Chiang, senior vice-president and managing director of the DHL Express Hong Kong and Macau.

The two new infrastructure developments in Hong Kong will help DHL cater to the growing demands created by the region’s e-commerce markets, as well as the estimated freight increase generated by the city’s three-runway system, the company said.

The HKIA’s three-runway system, to be completed this year, is expected to double the airport’s cargo-handling capacity to 1,000 metric tons a year by 2035, according to the government.

“It also reinforces our commitment to enhancing Hong Kong's position as an international trade and logistics hub," Chiang said, adding that the facility is a testament of DHL’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.

An eco-friendly control system has been introduced to reduce the premises’ electricity needs for lighting and air-conditioning — an initiative that helped the center win a gold certification from LEED, a leading green building rating system awarded by the US Green Building Council.

With DHL’s goal of replacing over 60 percent of its fleet with electric vehicles by 2030 in mind, the facility has been equipped with over 30 EV chargers to address the needs of its expanding green fleet. Also, all forklifts operating in the facility are battery-powered.

williamxu@chinadailyhk.com