WORK on the new cargo depot at the Shenzhen airport, the B2 depot, officially kicked off in Bao’an District recently and is scheduled to be finished in June 2020.

It will increase the Shenzhen airport’s cargo handling capacity by 420,000 tons a year, the airport authority said.

Currently, the Shenzhen airport has three cargo yards: the eastern, southern and northern areas. The southern cargo yard mainly handles domestic cargo and parcels. The B1 and B3 freight depots have been put into operation.

The new B2 depot is located between B1 and B3, and covers 53,000 square meters. The three depots are expected to handle a total of 1.32 million tons of freight a year.

Compared to B1 and B3, the B2 depot will serve a dual function — handling both outward and inward cargo clearances. B1 and B3 are independent depots for inward and outward freight, respectively. In addition, the B2 depot will realize the connectivity between land-side traffic and air-side traffic.

The B2 freight depot is a major auxiliary project, following the construction of the Satellite Hall of the Shenzhen airport. It is a major project of the logistics business department of Shenzhen Airport Group and important infrastructure for the airport to implement the Cargo-Passenger-Urban Waiting Hall Strategy.

It will be helpful for the airport to construct an international air hub.

The freight turnover of the Shenzhen airport reached 1.22 million tons in 2018, an increase of 5.1 percent year on year. The airport’s freight air routes link with 14 global freight hubs.

(Richard Han)