Amazon opened its new ground transportation operation for package delivery on O‘ahu.
The new facility will enable Amazon to rely less on UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service to transport packages and reduce overall delivery times.
The new ground transportation facility also is expected to provide job opportunities for individual contractors who can use their own personal vehicles and a phone-based app to deliver packages under what the company calls Amazon Flex.
Gov. Josh Green said he was thrilled with what Amazon developed on the site, a facility that he said supports small businesses and helps diversify Hawai‘i’s economy.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi also said he was thrilled, and called Amazon’s investment incredible.
Holly Sullivan, Amazon’s vice president of worldwide economic development, said the company has invested roughly $800 million in Hawaii since 2018, including the new facility and air cargo receiving facilities on O‘ahu, Maui, Hawai‘i Island and Kaua‘i.
Amazon’s effort to establish a ground distribution operation goes back several years, and began to shape up in 2020 when Amazon bought the 14-acre Kalihi Kai site from automobile dealer Servco Pacific Inc. for $125 million.
