Cargo Facts Asia gives exclusive look at SF Express SuperHub development plans

SHANGHAI – China’s fastest-growing express carrier, SF Express is developing its “SuperHub” in Ezhou city, as the base for its growing operations. The SuperHub will open by the end of 2021, SF Express VP George Li said during a presentation at Cargo Facts Asia, hosted by our sister publication, Cargo Facts, yesterday morning in Shanghai.

The Ezhou SuperHub (EIS) has a planned capacity of more than 2.6 million tonnes and will be Asia’s first and the world’s fourth 4E airfreight hub. From EIS, SF Express can cover 90% of China’s GDP within a two-hour flight.

EIS is the center of SF’s three-tier aviation strategy that will eventually make 36-hour nationwide express service across China possible. SF’s planned freighter fleet expansion will connect the SuperHub to its regional hubs throughout the country, including those in Chengdu (CTU), Shenzhen (SZX). These regional hubs will then be connected to city hubs through other aircraft types, including UAVs and vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Detailed coverage on SF’s freighter developments can be found on our sister site, Cargo Facts.

According to Li, the project has been identified by the Chinese government as a “national key project” and, in addition to serving SF Express’ operations, will also serve other air cargo and logistics supply-chain providers. The express carrier did not provide details on the opening of the hub to other air cargo logistics providers beyond this statement.

While SF is known for its e-commerce operations, it also said it is considering pursuing market opportunities for perishables, biopharmaceutical products and high-value e-commerce worldwide, but especially in locations such as Indonesia, Brazil and West Africa.