Work starts on Alpha at Airport City Manchester

Beijing Construction Engineering Group International (BCEGI), the Chinese construction and engineering firm, has started work on the 130,000 sq ft Alpha logistics scheme at Airport City Manchester.

The £15m development is the downpayment on a £1bn development.

The speculative start on site follows the recent 654,000 sq ft deal with Amazon which will create up to 1,500 jobs at their new fulfilment centre.

Part of the Manchester Enterprise Zone, ALPHA at Airport City Manchester will help BCEGI to achieve its job creation target to go from a workforce of 60 up to 100. ALPHA is being built at the heart of Airport City’s Global Logistics site and will offer units from 17,500 sq ft to 35,000 sq ft, arranged in a single terrace.

ALPHA has direct access onto the M56 and is located next to Manchester Airport’s World Freight Terminal, which already handles 100,000 tonnes of cargo every year.

Each unit will have its own fenced and gated yard with dedicated car parking and HGV delivery access. The warehouse accommodation will be finished to shell condition, with each unit having around five per cent of office space on the first floor level.

BCEGI is as one of the Airport City Manchester’s construction partners alongside Carillion, the integrated support services firm. Manchester Airports Group (MAG) and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) complete the joint venture partnership.

Airport City will total 160 acres. Within the development is the new China Cluster, a £130m part of Airport City based around two campuses – Wuhan Square and Shenzhen Gardens – together totalling 500,000 sq ft.