Copenhagen Airport is hoping to create a business park the size of 25 football pitches with the help of Danish and international companies.
The aim is to compete with other countries to become the Northern Europe hub for major global e-commerce companies, such as Amazon and Alibaba. The 170,000m² area leading down to the Øresund [strait, which forms the border between Denmark and Sweden] alongside the current cargo area is to double the airport’s capacity for both imports and exports to 1,000,000 tons annually.
Measured by value, 32% of Danish exports leave the country by air, including high-value goods such as mink fur, pharmaceutical products and spare parts for machinery and engines.
Peter Krogsgaard, Copenhagen Airport’s chief commercial officer, said, “Denmark should aim to be the Northern European center for cargo and e-commerce, and a hub for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries in Northern Europe.
“We need to create an Airport Business Park that can also attract companies with a particular need for a central location at a large international airport – companies that we would not otherwise attract to Denmark.
“With a Business Park at the airport, we could also strengthen export opportunities for the many Danish companies that rely on overseas exports. At the same time we could attract global companies that would otherwise locate in and around other large European airports.
“Currently, belly cargo accounts for a large share of earnings on long-haul international routes – often more than 10% of earning. If we can show the airlines that it’s possible to fill aircraft flying to Mumbai or Cape Town with belly cargo, it will be even more attractive for them to fly to Copenhagen rather than to one of our competitor airports in Europe.”
In 2016, more than 29 million passengers passed through Copenhagen Airport, and the current major expansion is set to create capacity for 40 million travelers per year.
Claus Lønborg, CEO of Copenhagen Capacity, commented, “We’re finding that logistics in the Greater Copenhagen area have attracted growing interest from international investors looking for a central location for their gateway to the Nordic region and Europe.
“The central location that an airport can offer is highly attractive for global e-commerce and other companies that want an optimal infrastructure for their expansion. They could have that opportunity with an Airport Business Park at Copenhagen Airport.
“Denmark’s competitive framework conditions, such as a flexible labor market and a well-developed physical and digital infrastructure, are crucial factors when companies are choosing locality.”
