Construction of a mail handling center began in the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone (PCPZ) in Fujian province on Aug 15, according to local news portal ptnet.cn.

A computer rendering of a mail handling center under construction in Pingtan, Fujian province. [Photo/ptnet.cn]

The 200-million-yuan project is based on a partnership deal between the China Post Group Corporation and the Fujian Provincial Government in 2012.

It occupies an area of 5.5 hectares to the north of a passenger ferry terminal in Aoqian town. The construction will take two years.

The project, after completion, will be capable of handling mail sent from Fuzhou Customs to Taiwan and the rest of the globe. It will make Pingtan the fourth city in the Chinese mainland able to handle international mail, following Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

China Post also plans a warehouse for cross-border e-commerce, a business incubator and a parcel supervision center in the region.

The launch of the project is good for the post business in Fujian as it will significantly enhance Fujian’s capability of handling international parcels and mail, said Zhou Xiansheng, general manager of the Fujian Subsidiary of China Post, at a ceremony on Aug 15.

Second, it will highlight Pingtan’s proximity to Taiwan and make Pingtan the most important place in the mainland to handle cross-Straits parcels.

Furthermore, the project will boost e-commerce with startups and the prospective logistics industry, he added.

Lin Jiangling, deputy director of the PCPZ’s administrative committee, said Pingtan will fully support the project and deepen cross-Straits integration.