The value of cargo handled last year by Shenzhen South-China International Logistics Centre amounted to US$200 million, double that of the previous year and it is expected to grow 50 per cent in 2007.

Huang Zhendong, deputy general manager of Shenzhen South-China International Logistics, recently told the Guangdong Shipping Gazette that his facility had undergone rapid expansion with its warehousing area increasing from 20,000 square metres to 65,000 square metres.

The centre's new two-story warehouse will be completed and operational during the fourth quarter, bringing the company's warehousing area to 115,000 square metres, he said.

Mr Huang said the company needed to build new facilities to meet customers' demands, explaining that all the centre's warehouses had been fully booked.

The centre had simplified customs clearance last year for freight moving between Shenzhen and Hong Kong and as a result attracted more freight forwarders to open offices at the facility.