Han Ximin, Yang Jie

1824295095@qq.com

PHASE II of the air-conditioned warehouse for imported international cargoes at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport was officially operational last week after renovation and upgrading, marking improvement of the airport’s cold-chain energy-saving and cargo assurance capacities.

The renovated warehouse features the innovative distributed phase change energy storage system developed by Senruo New Material Technology Co. Ltd., providing an efficient energy-saving, power-saving, and carbon-reduction solution.

The implementation of Senruo’s system resulted in a 15% reduction in energy consumption for the cold storage and freezer in sections 209-210 of the cargo area. Furthermore, by taking advantage of the peak-valley electricity price policy, the airport can achieve an electricity cost savings of over 66%.

Shenzhen airport’s upgraded facility can now handle up to 480 tons of incoming cold-chain cargoes simultaneously, doubling its previous capacity. Additionally, a half-size section within the 3,000-square-meter warehouse is dedicated to handling fresh products, with the capability to accommodate up to 200 tons of imported frozen meat and commodities such as salmon and coral groupers.

Data showed that by the end of May this year, Shenzhen Airport International Cargo Yard had handled a cumulative total of 8,000 tons of frozen meat and goods, or an average of 53 tons per day, a fivefold increase compared to the same period last year.

In response to growing market demands, Shenzhen airport has expanded its international freight services. The airport has opened five new international freight routes and intensified four existing routes so far this year. Among them, the routes with Davao in the Philippines, Jakarta in Indonesia, and Sabah in Malaysia have been specifically designated for importing fresh fruits like durians, bananas, and other tropical produce.

China’s cold-chain logistics and transportation industry has continued to develop rapidly in recent years.

According to the latest statistics from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, the scale of China’s cold-chain logistics market reached 239.5 billion yuan (US$33.33 billion) between January and May this year, up 3.6% year on year.

With the industry’s rapid expansion, the export of cold-chain goods from Shenzhen airport has increased from 16 tons in 2018 to 1,296 tons in 2022, with an average annual growth rate of 222%. The import of cold-chain goods surged from 4,367 tons to 32,393 tons over five years, with an annual growth rate of 65%.