Shenzhen is ramping up efforts to expand its global logistics network to meet the mounting demand for cargo exports as the southern metropolis’ foreign trade continues to grow.
In the latest move, Shenzhen Airport set up a new overseas terminal in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The terminal, which officially came into operation on Wednesday, has a warehousing space of 11,000 square meters, and the capacity to deal with over 40,000 tons of cargo a year.
This marks the third overseas terminal established by the Shenzhen Airport. Earlier this month, a second overseas terminal was launched in Frankfurt, Germany, which is able to deal with 26,000 tons of cargo a year, following Shenzhen Airport’s first overseas terminal in Mexico City in June.
Overseas terminals are normally set up in overseas airports, which provide loading and unloading, storage, clearance, transfer and other services for foreign trade goods.
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The establishment of overseas terminals is crucial for Shenzhen to build into a globally influential logistics hub. This will help improve the city’s international freight services, enhance its cargo transport efficiency and ensure the stability of the industry chain and the supply chain, Ying Xuemin, chairman of Shenzhen Airport Logistics Development Co Ltd, said.
The reasons for building an overseas terminal in Budapest are that the city is a gateway to eastern European countries, and it has many automobile and pharmaceutical manufacturers, which is in line with Shenzhen’s foreign trade demand, he added.
The development came days after Shenzhen issued a work plan to promote high-quality development of its logistics industry from 2024 to 2026. According to the document released on Nov 11 by the transport department, 30 tasks in eight aspects were introduced, including improving the logistics infrastructure, expanding the international logistics network, reducing logistics costs, and strengthening industry clusters.
Air logistics plays an important role in achieving the city’s ambition. According to the Shenzhen Airport, cargo throughput grew 6.2 percent year-on-year to 1.6 million tons in 2023, hitting a historic high.
Data from Shenzhen Customs show that Shenzhen’s foreign trade hit 3.76 trillion yuan ($483 billion) in the first 10 months, rising 19.2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Exports expanded 17.5 percent year-on-year to 2.37 trillion yuan. Imports grew 22.2 percent on a yearly basis to 1.39 trillion yuan.
