JD.com to ramp up drone delivery infrastructure

China’s online retailer JD.com plans to establish 150 operational sites for delivery drones in the southwestern province of Sichuan over the next three years. According to a report published by China Daily today (7 April), JD.com CEO Richard Liu said that the drone delivery network will help reduce freight costs by up to 70%.

The drones were seen as particularly useful for delivering goods in the more remote and mountainous areas of Sichuan.

The China Daily report said that JD.com’s current generation of drones can carry up to 50 kilogrammes (kg) of parcels, but “drones that can carry 500kg are in the pipeline”.