Fraport hands over cargo hall in CargoCity South to Swissport

Fraport AG hands over new cargo center in CargoCity South to Swissport Cargo Services Deutschland GmbH, thereby strengthening the air freight and real estate location FRA. With the commissioning, the first large photovoltaic system at the airport will also go online.

(Frankfurt/Main) After nearly a year of construction, Fraport today hands over the keys for a new cargo handling hall to the future operating company Swissport Cargo Services Deutschland GmbH. The real estate development of Fraport AG was responsible for the demand-oriented planning and realization of the project. The new building has 17,000 square meters of hall space, including special temperature-controlled zones for handling sensitive pharmaceutical products. Additionally, there are another 2,400 square meters of office and social areas. The commissioning by Swissport is scheduled for November. On the flat roof of the cargo property, the first large photovoltaic system of the airport will also go online. It will generate about 1.5 million kilowatt-hours of climate-neutral electricity per year. This would be enough to supply more than 450 households with four people for a year.

Property meets the highest standards

“The property meets the highest requirements for modern air freight handling,” emphasizes Felix Kreutel, Head of Real Estate and Energy. “The hall connects the air and land sides of the airport via separate cargo yards and takes an important step towards further automation of cargo processes with a forward-looking material handling system. The equipment of the new cargo center is aligned with the strict criteria of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and is intended to be CEIV certified by their Pharma branch after commissioning,” he explains. The highly complex project is another significant proof of the exceptionally broad portfolio and the proven expertise of Fraport’s real estate development. “We are pleased to be able to handle our customers’ cargo in Frankfurt from November in one of the most modern air freight centers in Europe. Our new cargo hall has 50 percent more handling capacity and is thus a commitment to growth at the Frankfurt location,” says Willy Ruf, Senior Vice President Central & Eastern Europe of Swissport International AG. “With the integrated Swissport Pharma Center, which has several cooling zones, we are equipped for the high demands of temperature-controlled medication and vaccine transports.”

Lighthouse project on the way to climate neutrality

With the completion of the cargo property, a photovoltaic system on a large scale will also go into operation at Frankfurt Airport for the first time. The panels for generating climate-neutral electricity will initially feed an annual output of over 1.5 million kilowatt-hours into the supply network of CargoCity South. The self-produced electricity will flow into various properties at the airport and will later also be used in Terminal 3 for climate control and for the operation of other building technology such as lighting, elevators, escalators, and similar facilities.

Decisive impulse for logistics location

With around 2.1 million tons of cargo handled in 2019, Frankfurt Airport is one of the leading air freight hubs in Europe. The state-of-the-art hall of Swissport will further strengthen this function with a capacity of over 200,000 tons per year. Frankfurt Airport is also at the forefront in Europe when it comes to handling pharmaceutical products. The currently approximately 12,000 square meters of temperature-controlled handling areas will be expanded by about 2,000 square meters with the commissioning of the Swissport hall. “Frankfurt Airport is considered exemplary worldwide for the development of a successful logistics hub. The new hall is another milestone in this process and will sustainably strengthen the logistics location Frankfurt Airport. With the handover of the property to Swissport, we continue this success story and provide an excellent starting point for the further development of the air freight business,” emphasizes Max Philipp Conrady, Head of Central Cargo Infrastructure of the airport operator Fraport. “Because even in the currently difficult times of the pandemic, when global air traffic is severely restricted, it has been shown that Frankfurt Airport has a special systemic relevance as a logistics hub,” he knows.

All facts at a glance

• Capacity: over 200,000 tons of cargo per year
• Storage area: 17,000 square meters
• Office and social area: 2,400 square meters
• Outdoor/parking areas: 12,500 square meters
• Temperature zones in the Pharma Center:
  • 1,300 square meters (15 to 25°C)
  • 280 square meters (2 to 8°C)
• Modern material handling system for automating cargo handling
• 31 gates for trucks/vans, including five with truck docks for ULD handling
• Full-surface roof photovoltaic system with a nominal capacity of approximately 1,550 kWp
• Water law suitability determination of the handling areas according to the Water Resources Act (WHG)

Photo: © Fraportwww.fraport.com    www.swissport.com