LOGISTICS firm United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) announced on March 21 its investment commitments in Asia Pacific at more than $250 million since last year include its expansion of operations at the Clark International Airport (CRK).
The firm said in a statement it issued last week that the investments include the company’s recent agreement with the Luzon International Premiere Airport Development Corp. (Lipad) to expand its operations at CRK in the Philippines. “The move will enable UPS to further strengthen its portfolio of integrated express, supply chain and healthcare logistics services,” read the statement.
“Asia Pacific continues to be one of UPS’s fastest growing regions. UPS has continued to invest in our network to maximize speed and flexibility, build solutions addressing the shift of global trade lanes, and offer resilience for our customers,” UPS Asia Pacific President Wilfredo Ramos was quoted in the statement as saying.
The company said its agreement with Lipad is “the latest in a series of recent network and facility enhancements the company has made across Asia Pacific including in Singapore, Japan, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan and, most recently, Hong Kong, where UPS announced it will open a new state-of-the-art facility by 2028.”
“We have been doing business in our Philippines hub for more than 25 years, helping to connect businesses to markets in Asia Pacific and beyond. The investments UPS continues to make through this expansion will enhance time in transit across Asia Pacific and continue to deliver service reliability for our customers and position UPS for long term growth,” Ramos said.
The company said that since 2022, it has also invested intensively in its healthcare business via a premier service that provides priority handling for time- and temperature-sensitive, patient-critical products in nine markets across the Asia Pacific region. Last year, the company said it added over 22,000 square meters of cold-chain enabled handling, storage and distribution space via new healthcare facilities in Singapore and Australia. An additional 12,000 square meters is planned for this year.
“UPS’s expansion in Clark will bring positive changes to Pampanga, providing job opportunities for the local community and serving as an economic stimulus in the region,” Lipad Chairman Lourdes Josephine T. Gotianun-Yap was quoted in the statement as saying.
“This partnership between UPS and LIPAD also represents a significant milestone in developing Clark as an ideal logistics hub for global brands aiming to establish or expand their international operations,” Yap said. She added that Lipad, which operates CRK, “looks forward to welcoming UPS to its future location in Clark and supports its expansion in the Philippines.”
Construction of the new Clark hub is set to begin in February 2025, and it is expected to be operational in late 2026, read the firm’s statement.
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