UAE's largest 'freezer farm' to hold 11 million Covid vaccine doses

Abu Dhabi - Hope Consortium has added 32 new ultra-cold freezers to bring the total capacity to 53 units.

Abu Dhabi’s Hope Consortium has developed the largest ‘freezer farm’ in the UAE with the addition of 32 new ultra-cold freezers, bringing the overall capacity to 53 units. This boosts the static capacity to store more than 11 million Covid-19 vaccine doses at ultra-cold temperatures inside the facility in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD).

Abu Dhabi Ports has taken the delivery of the additional, advanced 19,000 sqm warehouse facility in KIZAD. Earlier, when Khaleej Times visited the state-of-the-art facility in December last year there were 8 ultra-cold freezers and later, the capacity was raised to 22.

Now with 53 units, the static capacity at the warehouse to store vials at -80 degrees has been raised from 4 million to 11.4 million vaccine doses – an increase of 185 per cent.

The Consortium has developed the largest ‘freezer farm’ in the UAE to boost storage and global distribution of vaccines. The farm complements the facility’s existing static capacity to store over 120 million vaccine vials at temperatures of 2 degrees to 8 degrees, along with storage capacity for 11,000 pallets for support materials, including syringes and other medical equipment.

“Abu Dhabi stands at the threshold of achieving a truly historic accomplishment by enabling the global immunisation of billions of people through a fully-integrated supply chain solution that melds leading-edge technology with strategic foresight. Thanks to our wise leadership’s vision and determination, investment in initiatives such as the Hope Consortium enables our nation to take its place as a leader in helping bring the Covid-19 era to a close and pave the way towards a global recovery,” said Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Group CEO, Abu Dhabi Ports, and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Hope Consortium.

“By delivering well-planned logistics solutions hand-in-hand with a diversified vaccine supply chain, Abu Dhabi is ensuring a smooth flow of life-saving vaccines around the world to those who need them most.”