BUD Cargo City gets industry approval

Budapest Airport’s ambitious new Cargo City development plans have been well received by transport and logistics companies, who welcome the creation of central eastern Europe’s largest and most efficient air cargo and logistics hub within an integrated commercial zone at the airport.
 

With strong economic growth expected to continue in central, eastern and south-eastern Europe for the foreseeable future, the aim is for Bud Cargo City to provide a world-class air logistics facility to enable hi-tech and high-value industries to connect efficiently with international supply chains and markets, encouraging more of these kinds of companies to locate close to the airport.

Airfreight is also essential for the development of other export-orientated industries that are important to the Hungarian national and regional economies, such as the life sciences and pharmaceutical sectors, where speed of delivery is also of critical importance.

Air cargo is estimated to be responsible for carrying 30-40% of world trade by value, despite making up just 1-2% of traffic volumes, reflecting airfreight’s vital role in the transport and distribution of high-value goods.

Research has also consistently shown that there is a strong correlation between air cargo growth, international trade, and overall economic growth of a country or region, with airfreight widely seen as both a driver and beneficiary of economic development.

Construction of the first two new cargo terminals at Budapest Airport, to be built next to the Passenger Terminal 2, is expected to begin within weeks, with completion expected in late spring 2012.

This first phase will provide around 22,000 m² of new cargo and logistics warehouses and 8,000 m² of offices, although a total of twelve cargo terminals are planned to run along the length of Runway 2, with a total floor space of 140,000 m². These will be built as demand develops.

Around half of the space within the first two terminals has already been allocated to tenants, with the first major cargo handling customers – Malév Cargo Handling and Çelebi Ground Handling – taking a total of 10,000 m².

The 60-hectare on-airport area that has been set aside for the Bud Cargo City development also provides space for a huge number of additional logistics facilities, including airside, landside and customs areas, plus around 50 hectares in a unified commercial zone.