SATS unveils S$21m e-commerce airhub at Changi

SATS, a leading provider of gateway services and food solutions, on Thursday unveiled its new eCommerce AirHub at Changi Airport.

The S$21 million facility will enhance Changi's e-commerce mail-sorting capability by more than three times, supporting the growing e-commerce market. It will also reduce the processing time by half.

Located in the Changi Airfreight Centre, the 6,000-square-metre facility will improve productivity and allow airport workers to acquire new skills.

SATS is the only ground-handler in the region to operate such an automated airside facility.

Under a long-term agreement signed by SATS and Singapore Post (SingPost) in 2015, the latter will shut down its cargo-handling facility at Changi and use SATS's new facility.

SATS also unveiled several new innovations at the official opening of the AirHub.These include a fully automated mail-sorting system that increases mailbag processing capability to more than 1,800 per hour, from the 500 previously. The facility was opened by Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran.

Mr Iswaran said: "South-east Asia is the world's fastest-growing Internet region. Its Internet user base is expected to grow from 260 million users today to around 480 million users by 2020."

"Driven by a growing base of Internet users and e-commerce customers, the Internet economy in South-east Asia is projected to reach US$200 billion by 2025," he said. "Singapore is an ideal gateway for companies seeking to tap the region's burgeoning e-commerce market. E-commerce shipments tend to be time-sensitive, and are reliant on air transportation for faster delivery."