DP World and Grupo Puntacana have announced a joint effort to develop a new air cargo logistics hub in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, boosting the country's position as the largest trade and logistics centre in the Caribbean.

The new facility is being created through an agreement between DP World and the Punta Cana Free Trade Zone (PCFTZ), a company of Grupo Puntacana. It will include a new logistics centre and infrastructure platforms capable of supporting multimodal air, land and sea cargo. Operations are expected to commence in late second quarter 2023.

The logistics centre will harness DP World's extensive Dominican Republic multimodal cargo management experience and world-class standards for handling logistics operations globally, as well as the high connectivity of the Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) to global distribution centres. DP World began operations in the Dominican Republic in 2003 at its port facility at the Punta Caucedo peninsula, a strategic place for the redistribution of cargo to the Caribbean, the United States, Central America and South America.

In addition, the agreement will launch the deployment of a robust regional commerce strategy to attract a greater volume of re-export and import cargo to and from major global commercial, industrial, technology and agricultural markets. The project also aims to generate greater investments in logistics services, increasing demand for logistics-related labour and triggering growth and diversification in the economy of the Dominican Republic.

“This new air cargo logistics centre with Punta Cana Free Trade Zone allows us to expand the range of services we can provide to our increasingly diverse customer base and help boost the country's competitiveness. The facility will place the Dominican Republic on the world map as an air cargo hub for an increasingly broad range of products from around the region,” said Morten Johansen, CEO of DP World’s operation in the Dominican Republic.

“Our objective is to form alliances to increase connectivity in the nation and across the region. The more connectivity we can generate, whether by air or sea, the more attractive the Dominican Republic becomes for manufacturing and logistics companies in the Americas and beyond,” added Johansen.

Frank Elías Rainieri, Chairman and Founder of Grupo Puntacana, added: “This new air hub venture allows us to leverage the expanding transportation infrastructure of Punta Cana and accelerate the Dominican Republic’s transformation into the most important logistics hub in the region. Both DP World and Punta Cana International Airport are regional leaders in the airport, maritime and logistics sectors, and this project will be a unique opportunity to boost the economic and social progress of the Dominican Republic.”