Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com revealed on Thursday its plan to build 150 operation sites for unmanned aerial vehicle delivery in the southwestern province of Sichuan. JD.com CEO Richard Liu said the airports are expected to open in 2020.

The drone delivery sites, which aim to reduce the freight cost by up to 70 percent (compared with conventional truck courier), will deliver Sichuan's products to shoppers nationwide within 24 hours and will improve delivery efficiency in remote mountainous areas. JD.com has been developing drone delivery to meet the increasing demand of China's rural areas with complex terrain and underdeveloped infrastructure.

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According to BGR, the drones, which could carry 50 kilograms of parcel, have started operation, while drones that could carry 500 kilograms are currently in the pipeline. Several provinces have also approved JD.com's drone delivery project, and planning of air routes will start next month.

Unlike Amazon and other drone-related companies that cater to big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, where drone operations face no obstacle challenges, JD.com focuses more on rural areas where poor transportation structure inhibits efficient delivery.

JD.com launched its drone deliveries in four pilot countries during the run-up to last year's "Single's Day" shopping festival. During the trial runs, packages were transported from a JD warehouse to a local delivery station, where the parcels with different volumes and weight were flown by automated drones. After orders were received, a drone operator dispatched the drone along pre-planned routes to designated drop zones in the village, Air Cargo World reported.

Tagsdrones, JD.com, unmanned aerial vehicle