Office Complex And Large Warehouse On The Drawing Board

Budapest Airport and DHL Express have signed a strategic agreement for the development of a new facility for Deutsche Post DHL Group in Hungary. This is the second large-scale investment by Budapest Airport and DP DHL, after the latter’s freight forwarding business units moved into a new facility built in the Airport Business Park in 2013.

Budapest Airport will develop a large warehouse and office complex for the airport operations of DHL Express. The full area of the new DHL Express base near Terminal 1 will reach 13,000 square meters. The preparation of the site has already begun, and will be handed over to the Hungarian construction company, Market Épít? Zrt, in September. The new premises of DHL Express will accommodate approximately 300 employees at the airport. Today, DHL Express performs its daily operations with two aircraft: an Airbus A300-600F connecting Budapest with the main European hub in Leipzig, and a Boeing 737 handling inbound volumes from Brussels.
 
Having been present in Hungary for more than 25 years, the new lease agreement between Budapest Airport and DHL Express for another 20 years clearly reflects the commitment of the DHL Deutsche Post Group to Hungary and the airport. With the Hungarian economy producing stable growth in the last few years, and increasing demand for the fast delivery of different products worldwide, the so-called integrator business is growing steadily in Hungary. Ferenc Liszt International Airport is the largest job catalyst in the Southern Pest region, with more than 10,000 people working at 70 different companies and organisations at the airport. This number will increase further with the arrival of 300 DHL Express employees, who will take over the new facility in July 2017.
 
“We see this as yet another major step forward, not only for the airport, but for the growing Hungarian economy as well. This is another successful example of Hungarian-German cooperation, creating growth and new job opportunities in Hungary. Aviation connectivity, both in the cargo and the passenger area, is a key factor for the growth of a modern economy, and we are committed to contribute to this,” said Jost Lammers, CEO, Budapest Airport at the signing of the agreement. He added: “The construction of the new DHL Express facility is an integral part of our BUD 2020 development program, which earmarks 50 billion HUF for airport development over the next five years.”

“The move of DHL Express’ operations to Budapest Airport is a large-scale project. The value of the greenfield investment will reach €25million, the largest in the CEE region,” said Zoltán Bándli, Managing Director, DHL Express Hungary. “It reflects our commitment to building a state-of-the-art facility, to optimise our business procedures and strengthen cost-effectiveness. The fully automated new sorting system and enhanced shipment processing capabilities will allow us to implement an even earlier courier departure and later courier arrival. Based on the wider service window, we will examine the range and the coverage of our premium services,” he added.
 
“We have been working hard in recent years with our partners from DHL Express to tailor the project to their present and future needs." said René Droese, Property and Cargo Director, Budapest Airport. "As a result, we have signed one of the biggest lease agreements in the Budapest real estate market this year. We see very promising trends in both the integrator and the cargo businesses, so the airport is the best possible location for a new DHL Express base.” He added: “The long-term agreement just signed with DHL Express creates ideal circumstances for another DHL Group company to benefit from the airport location, and to grow their business in the future.”

(Images provided with Budapest Airport news release)

FMI: www.bud.hu/english