Dalian is China's second largest container transshipment port, according to the port's Web site. It also is the largest and fastest growing port for sea-rail through transportation, the largest seaport for passengers and one of the world ports handling more than 100 million tons of cargoes annually.

The ProLogis park site is located immediately adjacent to the port's existing container yard and to land that will be used to accommodate a planned, two-phase expansion of the port taking place through 2010. Ming Mei, ProLogis managing director and head of China operations for the company says the new park is meant to capitalize on rising import and export activity at Dalian. "Port markets are a lynchpin of our overall strategy in China," Mei says.

Over the past two years, ProLogis has established land positions at Chinese ports that can support more than 25 million square feet (2.3 million square meters) of total warehouse development. ProLogis currently has 4.1 million sf operational in China and an additional 3 million sf under development. In addition to Dalian, the company has positions at the ports of Tianjin, Shanghai, Qingdao, Ningbo, Shenzhen and Guanghzhou. Major customers in China include adidas, L'Oreal, Menlo Worldwide, Nokia, NYK, Samsung, UPS and Yum! Brands.