E-commerce firm Amazon has revealed plans to build a new centralized air cargo hub in Kentucky, US. The company will reportedly invest around $1.5bn to build the hub that will support its fleet of Prime Air cargo planes.
The facility will be built at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport (CVG) in Hebron, which is predicted to create around 2,000 new jobs in the region. It will be used by Prime Air cargo planes for loading, unloading and sorting out packages. With its 11 fulfillment center locations in Kentucky, Amazon now provides employment for around 10,000 people in the region. Last year, Amazon signed contracts with two carriers to lease out 40 cargo airplane to provide free shipping services for the Prime members.
Currently, 16 planes are offering services to Amazon customers, while remaining planes are going to be operational over time.
Amazon worldwide operations senior VP, Dave Clark said: “As we have considered places for the long-term home for our air hub operations, Hebron quickly rose to the top of the list with a centralized location and skilled workforce with greater connectivity to our nearby fulfillment locations, and a superb quality of living for its employees.
CVG Airport CEO Candace McGraw said: “We’ve worked very hard to make sure CVG is a great place to do business and we couldn’t be more delighted that Amazon acknowledged those efforts with plans to build a top-in-class air cargo hub at our airport.”
