Marseilles shipping giant CMA CGM has signed a deal with Cuban logistics major AUSA in front of French President Francois Hollande to open a logistics base in Cuba, 40 kilometres west of Havana.

This agreement covers the operation and development of a logistics platform on the port of Mariel, in cooperation with AUSA, CMA CGM is the first international company to sign such a logistics agreement in Cuba.

CMA CGM LOG, the company's logistics, unit will be part of MARIEL ZEDM ?Zona Especial de Desarrollo Mariel, Cuba Special Economic Zone project. ZEDM is a strategic 4,600-hectare logistics and industrial project area.

CMA CGM LOG will operate a 17-hectare a logistics platform with AUSA, including 12,000 square metres of warehousing and 5,000 cubic metres of reefer storage.

CMA CGM LOG will be in charge of the goods unbundling and distribution on the island, the exports consolidation, the import and export goods warehousing, containers distribution and empty and full containers storage.

CMA CGM has been present in Cuba since 2000 and is one of the only three shipping companies to call the country. It is the first international company to sign such a logistics development agreement in Cuba.

A new step in the acceleration of the development of CMA CGM LOG, the group's dedicated logistics unit.

Created in 2001, CMA CGM LOG is the CMA CGM Group's subsidiary specialised in freight forwarding and logistics solutions.

Its 1,000 staff offer logistics expertise complementary to maritime services in 36 countries, including air freight, multimodal transport, custom clearance, warehousing and distribution.