Suvarnabhumi hub seen as growth spur for DHL
Scott Price, second right, CEO of DHL Express Asia-Pacific, chairs the recent opening of the new DHL Express Bangkok hub in Suvarnabhumi Airport’s Customs-Free Zone.
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Express and logistics giant DHL expects to grow more than 10 per cent a year in Thailand following the opening of its new facility at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
DHL has spent US$22 million (Bt805 million) on the logistics hub inside the airport's Customs Free Zone, which - at more than 12,000 square metres - is five times larger than its previous facility at Don Muang Airport.
DHL has been expanding its network and capacity throughout Asia, and the Bangkok hub has been designated the gateway to Indochina, said Scott Price, DHL's Asia-Pacific chief.
With economies growing and exports surging, Indochina's logistics business is poised for increased growth, Price said.
He said neither the political situation nor the baht's appreciation had had an effect on DHL's expansion in Thailand.
The Bangkok hub will boost service efficiency and speed up cargo processing. It has the capacity to handle more than 23,000 pieces per hour and more than 6 million shipments a year and will employ more than 200 workers.
The Bangkok hub is one of six in the region, with the others in Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. DHL has invested more than $ 1.7 million on facilities in Asia over the last few years.
Price identified China, India and Thailand as DHL's major markets in Asia. It has a 40-per-cent share of the markets in China and India and a 50-per-cent share of the Thai market, he said.
The value of the express and logistics market in Asia is projected nearly to double by 2020, from $700 billion now to $1.3 trillion. Asia is also expected to remain the global leader in air-cargo growth, with average annual expansion of about 10.8 per cent.
DHL expects the global volume of express mail to expand at twice the rate of air cargo.
Suchat Sritama
The Nation
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