P&O Ferrymasters on Thursday announced it has entered into an agreement with Belgium-based Genk Green Logistics to build a 10,000 square metre state-of-the-art warehouse near the Port of Genk in Belgium, further enhancing its pan-European rail, road and warehousing network at a critical time for international trade and economic recovery.
The new facility - strategically located near the port which is in the heart of Flanders’ industrial belt - is equipped with world-leading Warehouse Management Systems and will enable customers to increase efficiency, have better visibility of their goods and expand storage capacity in their end-to-end supply chains.
The warehouse is ideally positioned to accommodate the import and export of goods requiring storage for international deep-sea routes and to the United Kingdom via both the English Channel and North Sea.
The site’s outstanding multimodal transport links - including access to the Albert Canal and direct barging to P&O Ferrymasters’ parent company DP World’s terminal at Antwerp - will facilitate existing customers’ export of high-value industrial products to consumers throughout Europe and via onward connections to Russia, China and the United States.
As part of the global DP World and P&O Ferrymasters commitment to sustainability, the warehouse will be constructed on a carbon-neutral site and designed to meet the ‘excellent rating’ of BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method).
Mark Mulder, P&O Ferrymasters’ Contract Logistics Director, said, “This new warehouse capacity at Genk is a vital addition to our port-centric logistics strategy and growing pan-European intermodal network.
Specifically tailored to meet the evolving requirements of customers, the facility will provide the greater operational flexibility and capacity required to reinforce resilience in crucial, time-sensitive supply chains.”
“P&O Ferrymasters’ ongoing development in Genk presents an ideal opportunity for prospective customers which need fast and reliable links to their markets.
“International trade is changing fast as we emerge from the pandemic and port-centric logistics will benefit the large number of businesses looking to reconfigure their supply chains.” P&O, a leading pan-European ferry and logistics group at the heart of Europe’s economy is a part of DP World.
P&O Ferries is a major provider of freight transport and passenger travel services, sailing on eight major routes between Britain, France, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Holland and Belgium.
Working closely with P&O Ferries, Its logistics business P&O Ferrymasters operates integrated road and rail links to countries across the continent including Italy, Poland, Germany, Spain and Romania, and facilitates the onward movement of goods to Europe from Asian countries via the Silk Road.
DP World, UAE Region the leading enabler of smart trade highlighted its strategic support and partnership to Chinese companies with the aim of boosting trade between the UAE and China. The smart trade enabler hosted a webinar in partnership with the Chinese Business Council in the UAE to discuss business opportunities for Chinese companies in the Mena region under the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI).
In his opening speech Abdulla Bin Damithan, CEO & Managing Director, DP World - UAE Region and Jafza shed light on how Dubai is a gateway for Chinese exporters, allowing access to four billion customers. H.E. Li Xuhang, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Dubai gave insights on bilateral strategic relations, while Zhenwei He, Secretary General of China Overseas Development Association highlighted the China-UAE economic and trade outlook.
In alignment with their goal of augmenting UAE-China trade, DP World in partnership with Zhejiang China Commodity City Group (CCC) recently launched the Yiwu Market as part of the first phase of Dubai Traders Market, located in the heart of Jafza. Dubai Traders Market will span approximately 800,000 square metres, with Yiwu Market covering about 200,000 square metres. The market will give traders and businesses from across the globe access to wholesale discounts with minimised supply chain costs and turnaround times by leveraging DP World’s logistical expertise.
As one of the biggest trade partners of the UAE, China’s non-oil trade in 2019, valued at over $49 billion, while imports stood at 15 per cent of total UAE imports of non-oil trade, valued at $33 billion. Contributing to this burgeoning growth in the UAE, DP World, UAE Region’s Jebel Ali hub in Dubai, consisting of Jebel Ali Port and Jafza creates the most strategic multimodal trade hub of the region. For over 40 years, Jebel Ali Port has been the premier trading port for the Gulf economies to the international trade routes with exceptional efficiency. Jafza accounts for almost 24 per cent of total FDI flow into the country and contributes 23.8 per cent of Dubai’s GDP with over 8,000 companies.
WAM