DHL says to invest more in vietnam

DHL is pooling more than US$1 million to expand its express and logistics network in southern Vietnam after the global leading logistics company completed US$14 million investments via a venture here in the country.

DHL said on Wednesday that the fresh investment was going to a new depot that just went online in Duc Hoa, Long An Province to meet the fast growing import and export volumes driven by increased investment activities in the southern province.

The new facility can process an estimated 80,000 shipments a year and help improve efficiency and better time-to-market capabilities for customers in Long An, a province in the Southern Focal Economic Zone, which is expected to grow 14% annually from 2010 to 2015 and become one of the emerging industrial provinces.

Tim Baxter, general director of DHL-VNPT Express, said customers in the province would be able to benefit from the increased capabilities such as later daily cut-off times, and reduced transit times for their inbound as well as outbound shipments.

Baxter said the commercial base continued to expand in Long An as manufacturing enterprises took advantage of labor, availability of land and well-structured industrial zones, among others. “Long An’s close proximity to HCMC makes it a desirable place for investors and this will continue to drive increasing demand for logistics services,” he commented.

Baxter described the new depot in Long An as another significant milestone for the joint venture and DHL’s confidence in the long term growth prospects of the logistics industry in the country after 22 years of the company operating in Vietnam.

Despite macroeconomic woes, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia Pacific and poised to continue its growth momentum in years to come. “Vietnam’s rapidly expanding economy presents vast opportunities for DHL,” Baxter said.

He added the new depot in Long An together with DHL Express’ other facilities nationwide seamlessly connected the company’s customers in Vietnam to the region and worldwide.

In previous years, DHL Express invested US$14 million in airside facilities, service centers and fleet expansion all over Vietnam. In 2010, DHL-VNPT Express inaugurated a US$5-million HCMC gateway at Tan Son Nhat Airport as part of the company’s investment commitment to Vietnam’s express and logistics market.

Equipped with infrastructure aligned to DHL’s Global Standard Operating Procedure, the 2,200-square-meter center at the Tan Son Nhat Cargo Express Service area has direct airside access, motorized conveyor and modern x-ray screening systems and in-house container loading and unloading capability for normal packages and heavyweight shipments – SGT

Tags: DHL Vietnam