San Diego International Airport is building a new $18.2 million Central Receiving and Distribution Centre (CRDC) for the delivery of food and supplies to its terminals.



Photo by Nathan Rupert

The 21,000sqft facility will be located on the north side of the airport with easy access from Pacific Highway and Washington Street, and when its is complete, it will eliminate the need for box truck and semi-truck deliveries to the terminals.

CRDC's are used to centralise and consolidate the collection of goods and products intended for the airport terminal's shops and restaurants.

They help to streamline and improve the security checking of these supplies as well as reduce costs and staffing hours.

At San Diego Airport, products will be received directly at the CRDC, vetted and then consolidated into environmentally friendly delivery trucks that will use the service road on the airfield to distribute the items to the secure side of the terminals.

The new procedure is expected to remove 50-70 truck trips per day on Harbor Drive and Laurel Street.

According to the gateway, when it is finished the CRDC will add more dock space, increase safety by keeping unnecessary vehicles off the airfield and accommodate future TSA screening of incoming goods.

Thella Bowens, CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, said: "The Central Receiving and Distribution Centre will be an integral part of the airport's future.

"It will make the airport run more efficiently, more securely and keep trucks off the busy Harbor Drive. It's a benefit for both the airport and the community."

The cost to build and rent the facility over a 20-year period is $18.2 million, and it is expected to be operational by December 2012.

AFCO CRDC SAN LLC, owned by Aviation Facilities Company, will finance and build the facility and Bradford Airport Logistics will operate the centre once it is built.