Construction starts on dnata City East Phase 2 at London Heathrow Airport

Construction has begun on Phase 2 of dnata City East to the south of London Heathrow Airport, designed by Chapman Taylor for Aberdeen Standard Investments’ AIPUT (Airport Industrial Property Unit Trust) fund.

This 10,900m² air cargo warehouse project follows on from the successful development of the adjacent, 23,000m² cargo warehouse, which opened in September 2019. The completed dnata City East scheme will be Heathrow’s largest off-airport air cargo facility.

The development is targeting BREEAM Excellent certification for sustainability, with the project being delivered in line with AIPUT’s Carbon Strategy, which commits the fund to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. The latest carbon reduction techniques will be incorporated into the building’s construction and operations to help future-proof both the operational and commercial value of the wider dnata City East location. Recycled and low-carbon materials will be used where possible, together with the installation of solar panels, air-source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging points.

The land, strategically well-located opposite the Heathrow Cargo Terminal and beside the Southern Perimeter Road, is adjacent to a scheduled ancient monument and site of archaeological importance, which has required extensive site investigation, negotiation and design integration.

Specialist industrial and logistics contractor McLaren Group has been appointed as Lead Contractor for the build programme, reporting to Project Manager Avison Young. Chapman Taylor worked from Concept stage on the project design and is now providing a monitoring role for AIPUT, working on delivery for McLaren Group under a separate appointment and overseeing the fit-out design for dnata.

Full planning permission was granted by the London Borough of Hounslow in August 2020 and the scheme is due to complete by early October 2021.