BELGIUM/CHINA. Alibaba Group logistics arm Cainiao Network has announced the opening of the first warehouse of the Liege eWTP hub. It is located at Liege Airport in Belgium and will play a key role in Cainiao serving the European market.
The smart logistics hub is a cental part of an agreement made in 2018 between Alibaba Group and the Belgian government to join the global Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) initiative. It aims to lower barriers to global trade for small and medium-sized businesses via ecommerce.
Cainiao said it chose Liege Airport to build the hub for its central position in Europe, efficient infrastructure, logistics expertise and the region’s pool of talent.
Construction of the new warehouse, designed by Belgian architects, started in late 2019 and commenced operations recently after a series of successful trials.
Already more than 200 direct jobs have been created at the warehouse, with that number expected to rise to 900 when it reaches full scale, including construction of additional warehouse facilities.
Cainiao noted that the economic stimulus to the local economy will be magnified through the creation of many more jobs in ongoing construction work, maintenance, logistics and operations.
The 30,000sq m warehouse is divided into two parts. Firstly, a 12,000sq m air cargo station for the rapid transit of goods for both export and import between the airside and the landside of the airport; and a 18,000sq m parcel sorting centre that organises parcels according to their destinations across Europe.
A four-storey office building with an area 3,000sq m is adjacent to the warehouse.
The facility is equipped with Cainiao’s latest logistics digital technologies such as Cainiao LEMO PDA, a lightweight handhold operations terminal designed and developed by Cainiao in order to digitise the flow of goods.
Liege Airport CEO Frédéric Jacquet said: “The arrival of the Cainiao eWTP Liege Hub underlines the importance of Liege Airport as a vital link in international trade and a key platform for ecommerce.”
He added: “Alongside general cargo and express, ecommerce represents a diversification opportunity for the airport but also the promise of job development which is one of the reasons that our company exists. Cainiao is an ambitious and innovative partner, a partner who pushes us to reinvent ourselves and to be better.”
Cainiao Network CEO Wan Lin said: “We are grateful to fully become a part in this community of logistics players surrounding Liege Airport, a leading cargo airport in Europe. Together with our European partners, we will build the future of smart logistics, of inclusive global trade and contribute to the future of a community with immense potential here in Belgium, starting with this eWTP Hub.”
Cainiao works closely with European logistics firms, boosting cross-border commerce via an intra-Europe trucking network that covers more than 30 countries.
