Work begins on £15m logistics facility at Airport City Manchester

Chinese building firm Beijing Construction Engineering Group International (BCEGI) has started work a new £15m logistics facility at Airport City Manchester – the £1bn development creating five million sq ft of office, hotel, industrial and retail space next to the North’s busiest airport.

The new 130,000 sq ft logistics centre, known as ALPHA, will create 40 construction jobs at BCEGI and comprise units ranging from 17,500 sq ft to 35,000 sq ft across a single terrace.

Breaking ground at the site today (May 24), members of BCEGI’s UK division were joined by Xing Yan, the managing director of BCEG International Investments.

Mr Xing said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for the development. We’ve reached a crucial stage at the project and we’re now on-site getting on with construction at ALPHA.

“We are seeing high levels of interest in ALPHA from firms keen to take advantage of the exceptional transport and business connectivity on offer here.”

Each unit at ALPHA will have its own fenced-off yard and parking facilities along with delivery access. Warehouse accommodation at the site will be completed to shell condition, with around 5% of each each unit serving as first-floor office space.

BCEGI UK’s executive director, Yew Cheong Lau, commented: “ALPHA is a 130,000 sq ft building which has been specifically designed to meet growing demand for logistics units among small and medium-sized businesses.”

“We’ve already got big multi-national businesses either on-site or set to locate to Airport City Manchester, so to be able to offer small and medium-sized firms the chance to move here to take advantage of the same economic benefits is fantastic.”

Once complete, ALPHA will form part of the Manchester Enterprise Zone

Commenting on the development, Northern Powerhouse Minister James Wharton said: “The Northern Powerhouse is about attracting and driving investment so that we can unlock our economic potential and better compete in the global market.

“This is another positive step on that journey, with the creation of good new jobs and a world-leading facility that will boost small and medium-sized businesses across Manchester and beyond.”

BCEGI, which is now focused on expanding outside of its Chinese homeland, is a partner on the Airport City Manchester development alongside support services firm Carillion, airport operator Manchester Airports Group and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

As it has the potential to attract millions of pounds worth of investment for the region, Airport City Manchester is serving as a centrepiece of the government’s Northern Powerhouse initiative.

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