Ikea has started construction of a mammoth distribution centre in Shanghai that will be its biggest in the Asia-Pacifi c region.

The US$150 million facility, with a warehousing capacity of 300,000 cubic metres, will be in Shanghai’s suburban Fengxian District.

The distribution centre, which will also be the biggest foreign-owned warehousing facility in China, is the second distribution facility for the Swedish furniture retailer in Shanghai. It set up a centre in Songjiang District in 2005.