A new low-altitude commercial logistics route using drones to transport goods between Shenzhen and Zhongshan was officially launched last week, which officials and industry players say will boost development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
The route, which operates between Shenzhen’s Nanshan district and Zhongshan’s Xiaolan town, spans over 70 kilometers, with a flight time of around 45 minutes.
According to the drone manufacturer, Phoenix Wings, the unmanned aerial vehicle can carry goods weighing up to 20 kilograms and finish the intercity delivery within four hours. With an average cruising speed of 30 meters per second, the drone can be used in such areas as emergency support, intercity fast delivery and offshore logistics.
The launch of the first intercity low-altitude logistics route in the GBA will significantly enhance delivery efficiency between Zhongshan and Shenzhen, and reduce logistics costs.
Cao Fuquan, chief of Zhongshan’s transport bureau
“The launch of the first intercity low-altitude logistics route in the GBA will significantly enhance delivery efficiency between Zhongshan and Shenzhen, and reduce logistics costs,” said Cao Fuquan, chief of Zhongshan’s transport bureau.
“It will inject fresh vitality for the development of enterprises and promote deeper economic and social integration between the two cities, thereby achieving a win-win situation.”
The new service comes at a time when development of low-altitude economy is gaining steam in China. Low-altitude economy is an economic form based on the manufacturing, flight operation and services of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles.
According to CCID Consulting, a subsidiary of the China Center for Information Industry Development, the market size of China’s low-altitude economy reached 505.95 billion yuan in 2023, growing 33.8 percent year-on-year. It is expected that the scale could hit one trillion yuan by 2026.
The number of registered drones in China increased 32.2 percent on a yearly basis to 1.27 million in 2023 and their flight time hit 23.11 million hours, rising 11.8 percent from a year earlier, said Han Jun, deputy administrator of Civil Aviation Administration of China.
Shenzhen, which is known as China’s tech hub, is moving fast to take the lead in the country’s development of low-altitude economy. The city launched regulations on promoting industries in the field, which came into effect on Feb 1, marking the first local regulation of its kind nationwide.
Apart from the newly launched air link, a mega cross-sea passage between Shenzhen and Zhongshan is under construction. The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link is expected to come into service in June at the earliest, cutting travel time between the two cities from two hours to 30 minutes.
