The ARCH Cold Chain Solutions Fund has opened the doors of its flagship cold storage facility in Tatu City Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Nairobi, Kenya. The facility consists of a state-of-the-art, temperature-controlled facility as well as a fleet of vehicles for the storage and distribution of perishable food products and pharmaceuticals.
The facility is the first of its kind in Africa due to the flexibility of its services, the product ranges it can accommodate, and the temperature ranges within which it can operate.
The ARCH Cold Chain Solutions Fund received resources from a range of financial institutions, including the European Investment Bank (EIB), which contributed $15 million of the total funding of $81 million raised.
The flagship facility of the fund in Kenya targets five core sectors in providing cold storage and temperature-controlled solutions to potential customers in horticulture, meat, poultry and seafood, as well as food manufacturing, supermarkets, quick-service restaurants/ hotels and pharmaceuticals. The facility covers 17 700 m3 and can accommodate up to 18 000 pallets, equivalent to 18 000 tonnes of goods at full capacity.
The unique facility is built to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Standard, aiming for a LEED Gold Certification. This would make it the first facility with LEED Gold Certificate in Africa. It will source up to 30% of its energy provision needs from off-grid renewable power production, mainly using solar photovoltaic energy, seeking to minimise climate impacts.
The facility aims to serve both export and import markets in the Eastern African region operating in perishable goods, and its logistics system has the capability to monitor and trace products from their point of origin all the way to their final destination.
