A logistics park for Chinese e-commerce giant JD began construction in Harbin, Heilongjiang province on May 30, following an agreement signed in May 2017.

The new facility is being built in Pingfang Economic and Technology Development Zone, with construction currently six months ahead of schedule.

It will be the largest business-to-customer (B2C) logistics park and have the most automated business operation in Asia when it commences operations.

According to information from JD, the logistics park project will cover an area of around 190,000 square meters, with a total of 15 buildings. Buildings No 1 to No 5 will be used for warehousing and distribution; and buildings No 6 to No 15 will be set aside for living and support facilities.

By introducing the most advanced automatic access systems, high-speed automatic sorting, and internet of things technologies, it is hoped that the facility will be able to deliver a highly-competitive service to customers.

In addition, robots will be used for sorting, distribution and loading, with the expectation of huge efficiency savings in terms of time and money.

The service area of the park will cover the whole of Heilongjiang province and its neighboring regions. Customers living in the downtown area of Harbin will be able to receive goods within half a day of placing an order.

It is estimated that the logistics park will provide around 3,000 jobs and generate tax revenues of 1 billion yuan ($150.64 million) for the local government.

And in a further commitment to the city, JD logistics has registered its Heilongjiang subsidiary in Harbin, providing fast parcel transportation and distribution services for e-commerce businesses.

Meanwhile, it will boost the development of e-commerce and logistics, as well as related local industries.

It has taken just one year to finish negotiations, sign an agreement and to start building, said Sun Zhixiang, vice-chairman of JD Group.

The project’s progress has really exceeded our expectations, he added.

Based on the progress of the project, two warehouses should be completed in time for this year’s Double 11 Day, China's largest online shopping promotion.