Maersk previews Cape Town cold store for South African exporters

A.P. Moller – Maersk has provided South African exporters with an early look at its upcoming cold store facility at Belcon Logistics Park in Cape Town. The facility is part of a three-site cold storage network Maersk plans to operate in South Africa by the end of 2025.

The cold store, set to officially launch in the last quarter of 2025, will begin handling cargo for selected customers as early as June. It is designed to support an integrated cold chain logistics solution and will be connected to the seaport, multi-modal transport infrastructure, and onsite depots.

The facility aims to address critical logistics challenges in the South African perishables sector. According to the South African Table Grape Industry, inefficiencies and cold chain disruptions during exports have cost the grape industry up to 1.5 billion Rand (approx. USD 80 million) annually.

“Our ambition is to minimise these losses for South Africa’s exporters as much as possible by offering integrated and unbroken cold chain logistics through our upcoming cold stores in the country,” said Lubabalo Mtya, Managing Director, Maersk South Africa.

The Belcon site will provide services such as consolidation, storage, customs brokerage, terminal handling, and both ocean and inland transportation. In addition to the Cape Town facility, Maersk plans to open another cold store in Cato Ridge near Durban later this year. The new sites will contribute to Maersk’s global goal of reaching Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, with the use of renewable energy.