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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.”

Robert Sutton, Head of Logistics Cluster, Abu Dhabi Ports, noted Abu Dhabi Ports’ decision to develop the UAE’s largest freezer farm late last summer was a bold move that has proven to be highly perceptive.

“With greater vaccine supplies coming on stream, the Hope Consortium is in a timely position to meet the expected surge in demand by having the largest regional capacity to store and distribute extensive quantities of vaccines across all temperature bands, especially at the ultra-cold temperature of -80 degrees.

“Thanks to forward planning and wise investment, along with the commitment of our Consortium partners, Abu Dhabi Ports is in prime position to deliver upon the promise of the Consortium in providing the hub as part of the global response to the pandemic.”

The freezers are connected to ‘mUnity’ – Maqta Gateway’s digital blockchain-enabled solution, which tracks the journey of vaccines through the Consortium’s supply chain in real-time, ensuring safe and transparent delivery to any location in the world. The entire storage facility is digitally connected via Maqta Gateway’s power backup systems, which securely transfer data to a master control tower dashboard that monitors all activity located on-site.