GMA opens UPS intra-Asia hub at Clark

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — President Arroyo rang here yesterday a golden bell that signaled the official opening of the $300-million intra-Asia hub of the United Parcel Service (UPS), reported to be the world’s largest express carrier and package delivery company.

"The $300-million investment manifests the optimism of the UPS in our future and the close ties between the Philippines and the US governments," the President said in a speech in a gathering at the 16,000- square meter UPS site at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) at this former US Air Force base.

She cited the UPS hub, which would make at least 10 incoming and outgoing flights per day as a venture that "honors the great Filipino workers and reaffirm the Philippines’ role as center of corporate business in the (Asian) region."

UPS officials said the UPS hub here would "accelerate the delivery times for goods moving within and out of Asia." They said it would also provide a "central sorting point within four hours from all major Asian cities," as it would be capable of sorting out for delivery 3,500 packages per hour.

The UPS routes from Clark would reach Singapore, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Bombay, Taipei, Cologne, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Osaka.

The intra-Asian hub opened one year after the UPS began direct flight service between the US and China. "With the opening of the intra-Asia hub, we can offer even faster, more reliable service for our customers. It is indeed an important milestone for international commerce," said Ron Wallace, president of UPS International who was present, together with US Ambassador Francis Riccardione and other top UPS officials, during yesterday’s launching.

"UPS’s building block approach to our expansion in Asia has paid off with the successful launch of the China flights and the opening of the intra-Asia hub," said Charles Adams, president of UPS Asia Pacific.

Of the 16,000 square meters leased out by the Clark Development Corp. (CDC), UPS has constructed facilities with a floor area of 2,300 square meters.

The UPS noted that the intra-Asia trade market is expected to be one of the fastest growing in the world in the years to come, as it cited Merge Global, a logistics and trade strategy consulting firm, as saying that the market is expected to grow at a rate of 16.8 percent annually through 2005.

UPS also cited a recent study of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) projecting a seven to 18-percent increase in air cargo traffic in Southeast Asia over the next 20 years.

The President commended Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II and officials of the CDC, led by its president Emmanuel Angeles, for their efforts to lure UPS to Clark. – With Marichu Villanueva