Shanghai has obtained approval from the State Council to build a bonded area in Shanghai Pudong Airport, reported Xinhua.

It will be the first bonded area at an airport in mainland China and will cover an area of some 4 sq km, according to the report.

Pudong Airport is a major aviation hub in East Asia, and the base for China Eastern Airlines, the country’s third-largest carrier, and Shanghai Airlines. It handled 2.63m tons of cargo in 2008, making it the world’s third-busiest freight airport.

Shanghai aims to be the logistics hub of the Asia Pacific by 2011, according to a logistics stimulus plan unveiled by the city. Output of the sector will maintain a growth rate of 10 per cent and account for more than 13 per cent of the city’s economy by 2011, according to the plan.

Shanghai will speed up the establishment of a logistics resource exchange centre and set up public distribution centres to offer door-to-door logistics services, focusing on agricultural products, medical equipment and medicines. It will also encourage manufacturers and logistics firms to develop major logistics projects, the plan said.