Cargolux’s planned China joint venture airline ‘Cargolux China’ is set to take to the skies in 2017 after the Cargolux Board of Directors approved an investment of US$ 77 million on Tuesday. The new all-cargo airline – which will focus on transpacific and intra-Asian routes with a planned fleet planned of five B747 freighters within the first three years of operation – will be based at Zhengzhou, Cargolux’s new hub in China.
The investment represents a 35 per cent share in the new airline for Cargolux with the other shareholders in the joint venture being Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Co. (HNCA), which will hold 49 per cent, Xin Gang Investment & Development Co., Ltd of Zhengzhou Airport Comprehensive Economic Experimental Zone with 8.0 per cent and the Henan Airport Group Co., Ltd, which holds the remaining 8.0 per cent.
HNCA, which is also a 35 per cent shareholder in Cargolux, is a state-owned enterprise, concentrating on the development of the civil aviation industry, the construction of the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone whose task it is to promote the transformation and upgrading of the Central China Economic Zone by actively participating in aviation infrastructure construction and the development of related industries.
Xin Gang Investment & Development Co., Ltd was founded in Zhengzhou in 2012 as a private company engaged in construction projects and is responsible for the development of the airport economic zone. The 415-sq km Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone at Zhengzhou International Airport ranks among the largest economic zones in Central China with remarkable growth in industrial investment, economic output and trade volumes.
Henan Airport Group is the operator of Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport, the fastest growing cargo airport in China and designated as one of eight national Category 1 airports in China. The airport’s master plan through 2040 foresees five runways, one of which will be solely dedicated to cargo flights, four passenger terminals and expanded cargo facilities. Cargo capacity is planned to reach over three million tonnes annually, while passenger capacity will grow to 70 million annually.
Cargolux China is the youngest addition to the Cargolux Group which currently operates 25 B747 freighters, including four operating for Cargolux Italia. With the China joint venture, the Cargolux family will expand its fleet to 30 aircraft by 2017.
