Kuehne + Nagel has begun construction of a facility in Dubai Logistics City (DLC), set to become the world's largest supply chain community within Dubai World Central (DWC), the city taking shape at Jebel Ali in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The facility, for which Kuehne + Nagel has leased 52,000 square metres of land on a long-term basis, paves the way for the development of the company's Dubai base into the principal Kuehne + Nagel distribution hub for the Middle East.

Werner Kleymann, Regional Manager of Kuehne + Nagel Middle East said: "Kuehne + Nagel is aligning its activities to meet the dynamic Middle East logistics market requirements. At the heart of this development will be our new integrated facility in DLC, which will provide us with the perfect conditions to push and leverage our growth targets. Ultimately, our objective is to become one of the region's top five contract logistics providers."

The new facility will become operational mid next year upon completion of the first phase of construction, featuring 17,000 square metres of warehouse space – with the option to expand to a total of 30,000 square metres. The new facility will complement the company's existing 16,000 square metre logistics terminal in the Jebel Ali Free Zone.

Phase one of the new facility will be equipped with temperature controlled VNA (very narrow aisle) racking and conventional ambient racking. Total capacity will exceed 20,000 pallet locations, with over 5,000 square metres of handling area for value added services like kitting and final assembly activities.