The new cargo building will sit on the 5.2 hectare Aéroport de Lyon DC1 site and cover an area of 25,313m2.
It will be located directly adjacent to the runway and offer 19,133m2 of warehouse space, 2,441m2 of canopy and 4,400m2 of temperature-controlled capacity compliant with Good Distribution Practices for pharmaceuticals and perishables.
The building will also have three blocks of office accommodation, of which two will be dedicated for customers.
The development will be undertaken for WFS in partnership with Groupe em2c, Prologis and Lyon Airport authority.
The facility is expected to generate more than 300 jobs both directly and indirectly through associated services.
Laurent Bernard, Vice President of WFS France said: “Aéroport de Lyon DC1 will become our second largest hub in France after Paris CDG for our French operations. Its strategic location and design will allow us to streamline cargo processing, especially for pharma shipments in the world’s leading vaccine-producing region.”
He added that the terminal will shorten turnaround times and increase WFS’s capacity in one of France’s most important logistics corridors while reducing the company’s carbon footprint with a modern building that has earned a BREEAM Very Good classification.
Cedric Fechter, Chairman of the Management Board at Aéroports de Lyon said: “This project perfectly illustrates VINCI Airports' strategy for developing cargo activities and reaffirms the key role played by Aéroports de Lyon in the regional logistics chain. The creation of a pharma centre, operated by WFS, addresses the growing needs of healthcare product transportation, directly linked to the excellence of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region—the world’s leading vaccine-producing region, which has also been home to the World Health Organization (WHO) since last April.”
Located near the 22 buildings already operated by Prologis in the Lyon region, the WFS terminal has been designed to support optimised flows of goods and meet WFS/SATS’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) group priorities.
To efficiently handle imports and exports, the building includes 36 dock doors including five specially configured for aircraft pallets.
Aéroport de Lyon DC1 is aiming to achieve BREEAM sustainability building programme certification so the DC1 terminal will feature a photovoltaic roof installation, LED lighting and electric vehicle charging stations on site.
Energy produced on site will power WFS’s operations with any surplus power fed back into the local grid.
