DHL to build dedicated healthcare logistics hub at Singapore’s Changi Airport

Changi Airport Group (CAG) has announced that DHL Global Forwarding is to establish a dedicated healthcare logistics facility at Singapore’s Changi Airport. The facility should strengthen the airport’s capabilities for handling temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical and life sciences cargo across the Asia Pacific region.

The facility, called the DHL Singapore Coldchain Hub, will be located at Changi Nexus One in the Changi Airfreight Centre. It is targeted for completion by the end of 2027.

GDP-compliant cold rooms, real-time monitoring, and direct airside access under one roof

The 3,047-square-meter hub will be designed in accordance with Good Distribution Practice (GDP) standards to support healthcare shipments requiring controlled temperatures of 2°C-8°C and 15°C-25°C. 

It will feature GDP-qualified cold rooms, direct airside connectivity, and real-time temperature monitoring, along with dedicated temperature-controlled transfer solutions from aircraft to the facility and onward to customers’ warehouses.

These capabilities are intended to maintain an unbroken cold chain for healthcare and life sciences shipments moving through Singapore and across the wider region. 

The facility will sit within Changi Nexus One, an air logistics building offering close to 8,000 square meters of warehousing space and direct apron connectivity for faster cargo handling. Changi Nexus One is also the first building at Changi Airport to have achieved both BCA Green Mark Platinum and Green Mark Platinum Positive Energy Building certifications.

The new hub will complement Changi Airport’s existing temperature-controlled infrastructure, which currently includes cool dollies and more than 9,000 square meters of airside-fronting temperature-controlled handling capacity, supporting over 375,000 tons per year.

Asia Pacific pharma growth and a EUR 2 billion strategy drive the investment

This new investment forms part of DHL Group’s broader EUR 2 billion (US$2.2 billion) commitment to its DHL Health Logistics division under its Strategy 2030 plan. The scheme targets growth in the life sciences and healthcare sector through infrastructure, specialized solutions, and expanded capabilities worldwide.

Asia Pacific is projected to be a major driver of global pharmaceutical market growth over the coming years, fueled by aging populations, improving healthcare access, and growing adoption of innovative therapies. According to IQVIA, pharmaceutical sales across 12 key Asian markets, including China, Japan, India, South Korea, and Singapore, are forecast to grow at a 3.7% compound annual growth rate from 2024 to 2029.

Singapore’s own pharmaceutical cold chain market is also expected to expand, with projected volumes increasing at approximately 7% annually, from 14 million kilograms in 2028 to 17 million kilograms by 2031.

DHL, Changi leaders point to Singapore’s unique position in healthcare logistics

Praveen Gregory, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding for Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, noted that healthcare supply chains across Asia Pacific are evolving rapidly as demand grows for biologics, specialty medicines, and other products that require greater precision and speed. 

He described Singapore as uniquely positioned to support this development. 

“The country’s pharmaceutical cold chain market is gearing up for steady growth,” Gregory said. “Our investment in the DHL Singapore Coldchain Hub is critical to meet future demand, as we enhance our cold-chain capabilities and help customers build more resilient supply chains to move critical healthcare products with greater confidence, reliability, and control.”

Lim Ching Kiat, Executive Vice President of Air Hub and Cargo Development at Changi Airport Group, highlighted the fact that the facility deepens a longstanding partnership between Changi and DHL Group, as well as reflecting the growing importance of healthcare logistics as a sector. 

“This investment builds on Changi’s strengths in air connectivity, airside infrastructure, and specialized cargo handling,” Lim said. “Leveraging Changi Airport’s extensive connectivity and DHL’s established air freight forwarding footprint in Singapore, we look forward to supporting the safe, efficient, and reliable movement of time- and temperature-sensitive shipments across Asia Pacific and beyond.”

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