The completed precinct will be located in Manu Tapu Drive directly adjacent to a new 250,000 sq m airfield expansion at the airport, which is due to open later this year.
With airfield access including a purpose-built road leading straight from the cargo precinct onto the expanded airfield area, the airport said the new precinct will future-proof its cargo capacity.
The cargo precinct will also link in directly with the recently upgraded nearby road network, with improved access via the newly built Te Ara Kōrako, as well as improvements to Joseph Hammond Road, George Bolt Memorial Drive and Manu Tapu Drive.
This, the airport noted, will move truck trips off the main roads to the passenger terminals at Auckland Airport and instead send them directly to the cargo precinct.
Auckland Airport Chief Customer Officer Scott Tasker said: “Cargo is a core part of the airport eco-system but currently, cargo and freight operators are spread out across the precinct from when it was set up in the late 1960s.
“To make things more efficient, these operators will be progressively moving into a single cargo precinct. This new precinct will function more like a modern port.”
He added: “The $30.7 million investment in the airport’s transport network has been key to enabling improved access to what will be a new cargo precinct.
“This provides cargo and freight operators with improved access into the cargo precinct, taking some of the incoming and outgoing cargo off the airport’s core roading network and prioritising customer journeys to the terminals.
“Smooth cargo operations are an essential contribution to New Zealand’s economic output. A daily wide body passenger aircraft across a year can carry around $500 million in high-value freight, these contributed to over $2.6 billion (US$1.55 billion) in total of exported goods over the summer season.
“It’s crucial that we’re assisting regional New Zealand to efficiently get their goods out to the world and air cargo will remain an important part of our infrastructure upgrades as we're building the airport for the future.”
According to a recent EY report, Auckland Airport is projected to facilitate NZ$41.1 billion (US$24.52 billion) in annual freight movements by 2032, supported by its investment in aeronautical infrastructure.