Vienna airport opens new pharma hub

Vienna Airport has expanded its cargo centre and opened a new temperature-controlled pharma hub.
The €17.9m investment includes a new pharma handling centre featuring about 1,600sq m of space as part of the recently enlarged air cargo facility.
The €1.9 m pharma site includes a cold store with an area of 153sq m offers a temperature range of 2°-8°C, while a further 1,415sq m of the cold storage facility can be controlled in a range of 15°-25°C.
DHL is also planning to set up a 60,000sq m logistics centre at the site, creating 500 new jobs.
Board member Julian Jäger said the new site would allow the airport to tap into Austria’s booming pharma export industry.
He explained:  “Our market position as an air cargo transshipment hub will be further strengthened thanks to the expansion of the air cargo centre. We will support domestic pharmaceutical companies by providing special, highly professional handling services.”
He added that products to the value of €8bn a year – half the export production value of Lower Austria – are moved to export markets via Vienna Airport
Recent road improvements in the area include the Schwadorf-Fischamend bypass along the western edge of the airport and the Lobau Tunnel which completes the motorway ring around Vienna, added fellow board member Günther Ofner.
The airport recently put its third solar electricity site into operation on the roof of the air cargo centre.
With an area of about 8,000sq m, it is one of the largest plants of its kind in Austria, with an annual output of about 750,000 kWh. It provides power for both the air cargo centre and the wider airport.