On June 10, 2020, the construction of the regional complex of DHL Latvia at Riga Airport officially started under a joint agreement amongst the airport, DHL Latvia and the real estate development and construction company SIA “Castor Construction”. The total planned investment is around €12m for building a processing and logistics centre with an area of around 4,500 sq m.
DHL Express said it will move to the new terminal and the new sorting facility at Riga Airport to allow for a more efficient shipment handling. The company’s aim is for the new facility to become the most advanced express shipment handling and logistics centres in the Baltics.
Snezhina Kazakova, Managing Director of DHL Express, stated: “Riga is the economic centre of Latvia, and Riga Airport is the largest airport in the country. DHL Latvia is focusing on the Express business of our Global company DPDHL. Being located in the territory of Riga Airport, using the new automated shipment sorting system and efficiently re-organising our processes, will allow us to deliver shipments to our customers as early as possible and to pick up shipments as late as possible. Therefore, we can have most shipments delivered by the following day.”
Currently, the volume of air cargo in Latvia consists of four business lines: export and import of high value-added goods, mail and e-commerce, air cargo transit and non-military cargo transit to Afghanistan. In 2019, more than 27,000 tonnes of cargo were handled at Riga Airport, almost half of all air cargo volumes in the Baltics. In the first months of 2020, 8,075 tonnes of cargo were handled at Riga Airport. As the aerodrome infrastructure at Riga Airport continues to develop, a new cargo apron will be completed during the summer of 2020, which will double the airport cargo handling capacity. The new apron will feature three large-fuselage aircraft piers able to accommodate all types of cargo aircraft.
Artūrs Saveļjevs, Member of the Board of Riga Airport, added: “The new DHL cargo logistics centre will ensure stable long-term air cargo flow at Riga Airport. This will strengthen the position of Riga Airport regional air traffic hub not only in passenger, but also in cargo traffic. The development of the cargo segment is particularly important for the Airport at a time when passenger traffic has been significantly affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The main and decisive role in attracting and developing international cargo logistics solutions at Riga Airport is the low-cost infrastructure, the high quality of services, clear and simple customs procedures. The main task of the Airport is to provide an appropriate infrastructure to facilitate the entry of new cargo carriers and increase the turnover of air cargo.”
Source: RusTourismNews
