23.06.2003
Copenhagen Airport to be a major cargo hub  

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The future is not just in the air; it is also on the road, at sea and on rails. That is why Copenhagen Airport will be spending the next few years working to turn the airport into an international centre for all cargo transport: a hub where cargo can be consolidated and sent on by road, rail, air and sea.

When the fixed link across the Øresund sound was built, the airport bought 420,000 sq.m. of reclaimed land to the east of the airport on the Øresund. This is where the airport plans to develop an international cargo centre, in the middle of the Øresund region.

"The airport’s unique location – by a bridge between two countries, in the middle of the Øresund region, and near a modern railway and a well-functioning motorway network – provides us with a unique opportunity to create a cargo centre with easy access to all modes of transport," says Vice President of Copenhagen Airports Real Estate Department Mogens Kornbo.

Building up the area

The plan is to build on the property or to rent land to companies interested in a central location in Scandinavia and northern Europe, on the border between two countries and close to all modes of transport.

Copenhagen Airport is planning to build railway tracks leading to the area, and it owns a small harbour on the navigation channel in the Øresund. This harbour could be expanded and equipped to handle small container vessels.

A hub near Copenhagen Airport

The area will be attractive to companies who need to send their goods to customers throughout Europe, at perhaps just a few hours’ notice. Copenhagen Airports is already in serious negotiations with eight to ten companies that are considering moving to the area.

"Instead of having distribution or warehouses four or five places in Europe, they can have just one centre by the airport and ship their products by scheduled flights to almost any city in Europe," says Kornbo.

About 50% of all cargo is currently sent as belly cargo, but the problem is that only 20% of a package’s journey is spent onboard the aircraft. The rest of the time is used for handling the package on the ground. Therefore, time and money can be saved by establishing a cargo centre by the airport and inside the airport area, where packages can be processed very swiftly," Kornbo adds. Of course, this is particularly important with fresh food products, which account for 10-15% of all air freight.

A great opportunity

One of the greatest experts in the world on air freight, Robert S. Arendal, a Dane who works with Luxembourg-based consultants Ra Associates, is one of the keynote speakers at a coming conference called "The Intermodal Transport Centre at Copenhagen Airport Kastrup", where the opening address will be given by Danish Minister of Economic and Business Affairs Bendt Bendtsen.

"Intermodal" means integration of several or all forms of transport and infrastructure. In Danish business daily Børsen, Arendal said that Copenhagen Airport has "a great opportunity" as a transport centre and that the location of the airport is "absolutely prime".

According to Arendal, the trend of making airports suited for all types of cargo transport has "only just begun." In Huntsville, Alabama, railway tracks to the airport have been laid, and a channel is being dug in the Missisippi River to allow barges to travel all the way to the airport.

"In recent years, the demand for air freight has been growing faster than the demand for passenger seats," stated Arendal to Børsen.

Additional information may be obtained from Mogens Kornbo or Strategic Manager Jens-Erik Engelbrecht at Copenhagen Airports A/S on +45 3231 2510.