Chinese logistics firm SF Holding Ltd announced on Thursday an investment of 2.3 billion yuan ($348 million) to build Asia's first professional cargo airport in the heart of the country.

The project has already been reported to the National Development and Reform Commission and construction is expected to start soon in Ezhou, a city near Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province.

The provincial government and an investment company in Shenzhen also invested 2.45 billion yuan and 250 million yuan respectively, bringing the total registered capital of the new airport to 5 billion yuan.

The airport, customized for SF Express, which owns a 46 percent stake, is positioned as a hub cargo airport and a regional airport for passenger transportation.

According to SF's announcement, the airport, which will serve as an important national transfer station for cargo deliveries, is estimated to reach a cargo throughput of 2.452 million metric tons and receive 1 million passengers by 2025.

By 2045, it is expected to become the world's fourth and Asia's first professional cargo airport with an annual cargo throughput of 7.652 million tons.

SF Express will also develop a logistics park near the airport, providing delivery, airplane repair and maintenance, and airline services.

The Shenzhen-based courier said the Ezhou airport will become the core of its plan to form an air network with global reach covering the entire nation.

Aviation delivery has become a key element of competition among China's delivery companies which are chasing to build their own airport bases. SF's competitor YTO Express last year received approval to build an airport in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, but its terminal is designed to deal with only 2,000 tons of cargo.

Ezhou, experts believe, could become "China's Memphis". In the 1970s, Memphis in the United States attracted FedEx to build an airport hub, leading it to become one of the world's largest cargo airports.