Pan-Asian logistics group ESR is investing about US$314m (€279m) to develop a new large-scale, multi-tenant logistics facility near Tokyo.

ESR said the new property was strategically located adjacent to the boundary between Tokyo and Saitama in Greater Tokyo, which is home to some 30% of Japan’s total population.

The latest project, ESR Toda Distribution Centre, will offer a total gross floor area of 86,400sqm over four storeys on a land site of 40,746sqm.

Construction is expected to begin in August 2019, with target completion by October 2020.

Stuart Gibson, co-founder and co-CEO of ESR, said the company had established a strategic network of prime logistics assets across the major metropolitan areas of Japan over the past decade.

This project will be the fifth managed by ESR in Saitama prefecture, a major distribution market for the Greater Tokyo region. The four existing properties are fully leased.

The company said it was estimated that only 5% of total logistics facilities in Japan were modern facilities for lease.

The emergence of the new economy, of which advanced logistics infrastructure was a major pillar, had spurred robust demand for modern, institutional-grade warehouses.