LX Pantos breaks ground on $80 mil. logistics center at Busan Port

LX Pantos CEO Lee Yong-ho, fifth from left, poses with company executives and key stakeholders during a groundbreaking ceremony for the New Port Eco Logistics Center in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. Courtesy of LX Pantos

LX Pantos has begun construction on a mega-sized logistics center in the Busan New Port Hinterland Complex, aiming to strengthen national logistics competitiveness and boost cargo throughput at a key Northeast Asian logistics hub.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the New Port Eco Logistics Center was held Thursday in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.

The New Port Eco Logistics Center will be located within the West Container Terminal at Busan New Port, and the site will cover approximately 125,720 square meters — about the size of 18 football pitches. Upon completion, scheduled for December 2026, it will be the largest logistics center by floor area in both Busan New Port and Busan North Port, spanning 76,083 square meters.

The $80.2 million project is primarily funded by LX Pantos, which holds a 90 percent equity stake, while LG Electronics owns the remaining 10 percent. This consortium-based investment marks an innovative strategic partnership model between a shipper and a logistics provider, underscoring a growing trend in collaborative infrastructure development.

The center will consolidate LG Electronics’ cargo volumes from the South Gyeongsang Province region and offer customized logistics solutions for clients across diverse industries. LX Pantos plans to leverage the facility as a self-operated, mega-scale hub at a strategic import-export gateway to enhance its contract logistics services.

Busan Port, handling the world’s second-largest transshipment volume and ranking seventh globally in container throughput, is a critical logistics hub in Northeast Asia. Additionally, with the Arctic shipping route emerging as the shortest maritime link between Asia and Europe, Busan is increasingly positioned as the primary gateway for this new trade route.

“Through the New Port Eco Logistics Center — the largest of its kind in the Busan New Port Hinterland Complex — we will ensure stable import-export logistics operations for domestic and global customers, while spearheading the development of high value-added logistics services,” LX Pantos CEO Lee Yong-ho said during the ceremony.