Transforwarding Warehousing Joint-Stock Corp, or Transimex-Saigon, has officially put into operation the first international standard logistics centre in Hoa Cam Industrial Zone (IZ). The move is seen as providing needed services for investors, exporters and importers in the central region – after five months of construction. Director of the Transimex-Saigon Da Nang, Nguyen Tan Man, told Vietnam News that the 16,200sq.m centre includes a 9,300sq.m general warehouse with an automatic cargo forklift and loading system for importers. He said the centre, built at a cost of 50 billion VND (2.4 million USD), will also act as a distribution hub of consumer goods for the central and Central Highlands regions. The centre will help distribute consumer goods from central Quang Nam, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh provinces, and northern Bac Ninh province to supermarkets in business hubs in the central region. The 137 hectares Hoa Cam IZ, 20km southwest of the city, has attracted 55 businesses and is 81 percent occupied. It also connects the East-West Economic Corridor, which links Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, and a system of deep sea ports at Tien Sa and Lien Chieu, as well as airports. The central city of Da Nang also plans to receive a boost as a centre of hi-tech industries, logistics service and tourism in central Vietnam. The city has 100 logistics companies, but only five are members of the Vietnam Logistics Association. Last year, Transimex-Saigon invested 600 billion VND (28.5 million USD) to build a bonded warehouse and logistics service project on 10ha in Saigon Hi-tech Park. As scheduled, Transimex-Saigon will develop a cold storage system in the IZ to provide services for seafood exporters. Kerry Logistics Company from Singapore also opened its new logistics centre in the city in 2010.-VNA