Atlanta airport adding 1 million square feet of warehouse space

ATLNext, the new development program at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), is in the process of adding 1 million square feet of warehouse space, with construction starting this year on the third warehouse. The development includes a new vehicle staging area to relieve cargo truck congestion. The work is expected to cost more than US$200 million and wrap up in 2021.

According to local media, three cargo facilities should be under construction in 2017, with the $26 million Cargo Building C, set for completion this year. Cargo Building 1, slated for construction between 2017 and 2021, is estimated to cost $22 million.

The expanded cargo facilities are part of a series of projects over the next 20 years designed to “boost capacity, renew and replace existing facilities, and enhance ATL’s aesthetic appeal.” The project’s total cost is projected to exceed $6 billion, with nearly $1 billion to be spent in 2017 alone.

ATLNext said that air cargo is a “fertile source of employment and economic opportunity for metro Atlanta,” as evidenced by the series of cargo expansions at the airpor. In 2015, ATL handled more than 626,000 metric tons of cargo, growing cargo volume 4.15 percent over 2014. Also in 2015, four new all-cargo airlines began operations at ATL, and plans are in the works for additional carriers to begin service this year.