DHL has announced it is developing a new logistics hub at Vienna Airport, Austria that the company says is to become the central gateway to Eastern Europe.

DHL Freight and DHL Global Forwarding have signed a contract to buy land by Vienna Airport to build the new logistics centre.

Construction at the site is expected to begin this summer.

The new freight hub will be around 60,000m², will focus on providing better services for DHL’s clients in Eastern Europe.

Both divisions of DHL will have a warehouse as well as office buildings on the site that will help them connect to the airport and surrounding infrastructure.

Until recently, DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Freight operated out of three locations in Vienna. In centralising their operations, so they should be able to reduce operating costs and turnaround times.

There is to be more docks as well as cross-docks to serve their customers. It will also be close to the A4 freeway connecting Vienna Airport to the centre of Vienna.

DHL Freight CEO Uwe Brinks said: “DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Freight are combining the individual strengths of their two networks at the new site in Fischamend, which will lead to an even faster, more efficient service for our customers.

“The site is in proximity to Vienna airport and as such strategically well-located, providing us with low-threshold access to Eastern European markets and Germany.”

DHL Global Forwarding Austria managing director Christoph Wahl said: “Located directly at Vienna airport, Fischamend perfectly meets our requirements for the DHL Campus, through which we intend to bundle our expertise, improve our service, and consequently further strengthen our market position in Austria.”