DHL has opened a new European airfreight hub at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany. Deutsche Post World Net, DHL's parent, has invested some 300m euros in construction of the facility, which is intended to provide direct north-south and east-west access to the continent. It will also serve as a connecting point for markets in Central and Eastern Europe and Asia, the company said. The hub consists of a distribution center with modern sorting technology, along with an aircraft hangar, apron, tank station and administration building. Transshipment volumes through the facility currently amounts to around 1,500 tons per night, but DHL expects the level to rise to 2,000 tons by 2012. Leipzig represents the first DHL facility to be largely self-sufficient as a consumer of energy for electricity, heating and cooling. It features a cogeneration unit for combined heat and power generation, together with 1,000 square meters of solar cells on the roof of the hangar workshop. DHL said the new location would allow the company to minimize shipment times while providing express services on additional trade lanes.
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