Fraport Constructs Freight Hall for DHL in CargoCity South

Fraport is closing another construction gap in CargoCity South (CCS) at Frankfurt Airport. Adjacent to Gate 31, a freight hall for DHL Global Forwarding, the air and sea freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL Group, will be built starting in mid-2023. The construction site covers an area of nearly 60,000 square meters, and the hall itself will have a gross floor area of 28,000 square meters, including office space.

(Frankfurt/Main) With this latest contract, the real estate management of Fraport AG continues the successful development of the air freight location CargoCity South at Frankfurt Airport.

The airport operator Fraport is constructing the freight hall and will retain the property in its own building stock in the future. DHL Global Forwarding, one of the world’s leading air freight providers, will lease the hall, thereby expanding its presence at the FRA air traffic hub into a European air freight hub.

“The basic concept of the hall is based on many years of expertise in the project development of logistics and air freight properties at Frankfurt Airport,” explains Jan Sieben, Head of Real Estate Development at Fraport AG. “The finished hall layout, along with the outdoor facilities, will provide optimal conditions for the tenant’s requirements. However, we always keep in mind that the design planning and construction description should also make the property attractive for future tenants,” he emphasizes.

Generous Drive and Maneuvering Areas

The design of the outdoor facilities also reflects the special demands of a logistics center at Frankfurt Airport: The hall will feature 56 gates and truck docks with generously sized drive and maneuvering areas, as well as additional separate parking spaces for trucks. The planning is crucial for the smooth handling of freight later on and is intended to relieve the general traffic areas of the CCS. In addition, parking spaces for employees of DHL Global Forwarding will be created directly at the building. Associated office and social spaces will account for about 3,000 square meters of the project area.

The hall concept is intended to meet demanding ecological criteria. For the planning and realization of the construction, Fraport will commission a general planner and a general contractor.

Further Developing the Freight Location Frankfurt

“Frankfurt impresses with its central role as a successful logistics hub,” explains Max Philipp Conrady, Head of Location Development Cargo at Fraport. “With DHL Global Forwarding as one of the world’s leading air freight forwarders, a strong partner is expanding its presence on-site. It actively contributes to the future development of the freight location Frankfurt and thus strengthens its position in the global air freight market.”

“Frankfurt plays a crucial role in our international air freight offering. From the heart of Europe, we have been providing our customers access to all relevant international routes for about 20 years. The increasing freight volumes make it necessary for us to expand our capacities. We are glad to have Fraport as the right partner by our side for this,” says Tobias Schmidt, CEO DHL Global Forwarding Europe.

Further Expanding Charter Business

Thomas Mack, Global Head of Air Freight, DHL Global Forwarding, adds: “With the expansion in Frankfurt, we also have the opportunity to further develop our dedicated charter business. In particular, we see increasing demand from Asia and in the eCommerce sector, which we can ideally serve from Frankfurt. With the new infrastructure, we are able to control our processes even better, further optimize them, and make them even more efficient.”

Only a Few Remaining Areas Available

After the completion of the latest hall project, two more areas with a total of around 90,000 square meters of ground area will still be available in the CCS for future development measures. The real estate division of Fraport AG will gradually place these on the market.

Photo: © Fraport