Bahrain lays foundation stone for hitech Express Cargo Village
CONSTRUCTION NEWS
Bahrain Airport Company, the operator and managing body of Bahrain International Airport (BIA), has laid the foundation stone for the Express Cargo Village on a 25,000 sq m area within the BIA.
The Express Cargo Village is a sophisticated logistics platform that provides a one-stop-shop for express cargo operators, each of which will have their own premises within the facility.
An advanced logistics hub, it includes buildings dedicated to serving each cargo operator in line with the highest international standards.
The government signed up French engineering consultants Egis to supervise the design and construction of the project, while Cebarco Bahrain has been named the main contractor of the Express Cargo Village.
The scope of work includes the construction of warehouses, aircraft aprons, and outlets along with associated finishing.
This comes in line with Bahrain’s strategy for the logistics industry as laid out in its Economic Recovery Plan, in implementation of the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
It also follows an announcement by the Cabinet, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, reported BNA.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held in the presence of the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications and also Chairman of Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) Engineer Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Cebarco Bahrain Chairman Dr Khalid Abdulrahim and Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s Head of Customs in addition to a number of officials from Bahrain Airport Company.
Express Cargo Village will promote the growth of the logistics industry, enhancing its regional competitiveness and ability to attract investment. Logistics is one of the high-priority sectors outlined in Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030, said Kamal bin Mohammed.
The minister pointed out that one of the Economic Recovery Plan’s main objectives is to accelerate the adoption of a strategy for logistics.
"Express Cargo Village will boost BIA’s cargo capacity in line with the highest standards as it deploys advanced technologies to improve efficiency andmeet growth targets for air freight and e-commerce," he added.
Kamal bin Mohammed said the logistics strategy aims to further develop the sector and enhance its efficiency by accelerating the process of linking operations at BIA with those of Khalifa bin Salman Port, and streamlining land transportation procedures, to make the Kingdom a preferred destination for cargo and e-commerce.
"It ensures that all operations are carried out quickly and smoothly in a single location, enabling the airport to handle larger quantities of cargo efficiently, better meet the requirements of cargo customers, and create new job opportunities," he added.
BAC earlier signed a 10-year agreement with global logistics giant, FedEx Express, allocating 9,000 sqm to it for the operation of a 5,000 sqm warehouse and a 4,000 sqm open area, which will be handed over in Q3 of 2023.
