Chronopost, the international express unit of France’s La Poste, has signed a deal kickstarting construction on a new EUR 1.2m facility on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.
The facility near Bastia-Poretta Airport in the north of the French island is expected to be completed in 2013, to operate on a 25-year lease from the local chamber of commerce.
The project has already received approval from local planning authorities, who see it as part of the economic recovery of the area.
Chronopost has operated two branches in Corsica since 1990, at Ajaccio and Bastia, but has seen its volumes growing 60% in the last decade. The new Bastia facility will be capable of handling 1,200 items per day.
Jean Giudicelli, head of Chronopost’s Corsican operations, said: “This new larger siteis located near to the airport in the Bastia area, and will allow Chronopost to make use of modern operational systems adapted to the number of shipments the company is dealing with each day, and absorb a predicted annual growth of 7%.”
The Bastia project will see the local chamber of commerce, the CCI de Bastia and Haute-Corse, providing up to 80% of the finance.
Paul Trojani, the president of the CCI, said: “The realisation of this project reflects the relationship of trust that was quickly established between Chronopost and CCI, and meets the requirements that the improvement and management of the site are consistent with our specific development objectives.”
Chronopost, which handles express deliveries for items up to 30kg in weight, turned over EUR 706m in 2011, with 80 sites and six hubs, and a workforce of about 3,700.
Last month, the company opened a new EUR 3.2m facility in the Rouvignies area of northern France, close to the Belgian border.
Source: Post&Parcel/Chronopost
Tags: Chronopost, Corsica, France, La Poste
