Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has registered its second month in a row where cargo volumes grew at more than four per cent year-on-year.

Cargo and airmail throughput rose by 4.3 per cent to 436,000 tonnes in May with transhipments recording a 16 per cent increase, contributing to most of the cargo growth.

The growth in May followed on from a 4.8 per cent increase in April to 426,000 tonnes driven by transhipments, while March had seen a decrease of 2.5 per cent to 422,000 tonnes when a 13 per cent rise in imports could not counter a 12 per cent drop in exports.

In the first five months of 2018, HKIA handled two million tonnes of cargo and airmail, a 4.1 per cent increase, and has handled 5.13 million tonnes on a rolling 12-month basis, up 6.5 per cent.

This month, the airport has welcomed Air Belgium, which is operating two flights a week from Brussels South Charleroi Airport.

Airport Authority Hong Kong also awarded the right to develop and manage a premium logistics centre at Kwo Lo Wan in the South Cargo Precinct of HKIA to a joint venture led by Alibaba Group’s logistics arm, Cainiao Network, in partnership with China National Aviation Corporation and YTO Express.

The site will occupy 5.3 hectares with a gross floor area of 380,000 square metres, and will become the smart hub in Asia serving the global e-commerce business when it starts operations in 2023.