DHL’s UbuntuConnect brings critical supplies from China via Dubai
DHL announced that starting this week, it will be flying 100 tonnes of cargo every week from China to Dubai from where it will be deconsolidated for destinations in Africa and the Middle East. The cargo will comprise mostly personal protective gear for medical personnel.
The operation is launched under the DHL Global Forwarding banner, using Dubai’s strategic location and its advanced logistics capacity, to serve as hub for the large volumes of cargo. The point of departure in China is Guangzhou where all the cargo is consolidated.
“DHL Global Forwarding is bolstering logistics support to our customers in the region who need to ensure stable supply chains, especially for medical and critical supplies. With multiple flight cancellations that has strained worldwide airfreight capacity, we remain committed to ensure that goods and critical resources continue to reach people and communities in Africa and the Middle East,” said Amadou Diallo, the Chief Executive of DHL Global Forwarding Middle East and Africa.
With its geographical location and superior infrastructure as a transit hub, Dubai plays a key role as a gateway between China and the rest of Africa and the Middle East. Africa is Dubai’s third largest trading partner in volume terms and Africa’s non-oil trade with Dubai has been growing steadily over the last decade, accounting for 10.5% of the emirate’s total non-oil foreign trade in 2018.
The bulk of the cargo is expected to comprise personal protective gear such as masks, gloves, hand sanitisers and goggles. Equally, part of the cargo will head to other countries in the Middle East to plug the demand gap there.
While the secure airlift from China will be in operation for four weeks starting on 21 April, DHL Global Forwarding said it is actively seeking to secure routes to all of Africa and boost capacity to the Middle East and Africa in the longer term.
