HONG KONG — Cathay Pacific Services Limited (CPSL) has expanded its pharma handling capabilities at its Hong Kong hub, the largest dedicated hub amongst Hong Kong’s cargo terminal operators.
The facility, built to IATA CEIV standards, is located at the Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal and provides a fully temperature-controlled area of over 1,250 square meters for pharmaceutical product handling.
It can process 235,000 tonnes of pharmaceuticals per year, more than doubling the Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal’s existing cold storage area and capacity, and is the largest dedicated pharma handling center of any Hong Kong-based air cargo terminal, according to the company.
The center features real-time temperature monitoring, a temperature-controlled truck dock shelter, multiple container charging points, non-o-zone depleting Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) refrigerants, high thermal insulation panels, and inflatable dock shelters.
CPSL also has a 1,250 square meters multi-temperature-zone cold room, a perishable handling center for immediate perishable handling, thermal dollies for transfers between aircraft and terminal as well as its internet of things (IoT) enabled MobiFresh solution.
CPSL said the new facility is capable of processing 235,000 tonnes of pharmaceuticals per year, which is double the capacity of the existing cold storage area and capacity.
The company describes it as the ‘largest dedicated pharma handling center of any Hong Kong-based air cargo terminal.’
Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal provides a full span of air cargo services for airlines operating at Hong Kong International Airport and is capable of handling an annual throughput of 2.7 million tonnes, according to CPSL’s press release.
Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal handled 1.4 million tonnes in 2021, a 4% increase over 2020, and will celebrate 10 years in business at Hong Kong International Airport in 2023.
In other related news, Etihad Cargo is set to launch a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical cool chain facility, in partnership with Etihad Airport Services and Abu Dhabi Airports.
The facility will significantly expand Abu Dhabi International Airport’s (AUH) pharmaceutical handling and storage.
The move means Etihad Cargo will be able to provide “world-class, end-to-end temperature-controlled solutions for the transportation of pharmaceuticals across our network”, says the company.
In the past twelve months, Etihad Cargo transported over 50,000 tonnes of cool chain products, including pharmaceutical and healthcare products.
The expanded, dedicated pharmaceutical hub will double Abu Dhabi Airport’s cold chain storage capacity and enhance the airport’s capabilities for the storage, handling, and transportation of cool chain products.
According to IMARC Group’s new report, titled “Global Healthcare Cold Chain Logistics Market Report & Forecast 2022-2027”, the global healthcare cold chain logistics market reached a value of US$16.5 billion in 2021.
Looking forward, IMARC Group expects the market to reach US$ 20.3 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 3.4% during 2022-2027.
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