United Parcel Service (UPS) opened a new air hub at Clark International Airport in the Philippines on October 15, following an investment of more than $80 million. The logistics company said the project will improve services along more than 1,100 trade lanes linking Asia Pacific with other regions.

The 30,000-square-meter facility is 15 times larger than UPS’s previous Clark hub. UPS said it can process up to 15,000 packages per hour and support an average daily volume of 46,000 packages, compared with the former facility’s considerably smaller capacity.

According to UPS, the new hub supports 170 flight segments into and out of Clark each week. Some routes serving eastern China and other Asia-Pacific markets, as well as connections between parts of Southeast Asia and India, could see delivery times shortened by up to two days.

The company said the new facility has created nearly 600 jobs. Russell Reed, managing director of UPS Philippines, described Clark as a long-term operating base for its regional logistics activities.

The hub includes automated sorting equipment capable of processing up to 9,000 small packages per hour. It also has refrigeration and freezer facilities, re-icing capabilities, and RFID-based monitoring for critical and temperature-sensitive healthcare shipments.

UPS is investing elsewhere in Asia Pacific, including facilities in Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea. The Clark opening strengthens its network for high-tech manufacturing, healthcare and cross-border commerce at a time when companies are adjusting transport routes and supply chains.

Vietnam’s steel producer VinMetal, Italy’s Danieli to jointly make railway steel