Cold Solutions, a logistics provider has announced a planned investment of Sh7.5bn ($69.9m) in state of the art temperature-controlled facilities in Kiambu, outside Nairobi and in Mombasa. The investments are part of a $200m planned cold chain network across East Africa.
The Nairobi facility will be a 15,000m² grade A cold storage warehouse in the Tatu City Special Economic Zone. The facciltiy can cater for multiple temperature ranges from +20 to -40 C and store fresh and frozen foods as well as pharmaceuticals. It is expected to be operational in the next 12-18 months.
Cold Solutions Kenya is a part of Cold Chain Solutions East Africa, owned by private equity company ARCH Emerging Markets Partners Limited (ARCH). ARCH is planning to invest $200m to build up to 10 state-of-the-art temperature-controlled cold storage warehouses in Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The company plans to develop a total installed estimated capacity of over 100,000 pallets across East Africa.
The growth of the supermarket and HORECA sectors, which Trendtype tracks across Africa, is continuing to accelerate through both international and domestic investment. Rwanda has an ambitious program to revolutionise and formalise its supply chain, and eliminate the high volumes of food wasted through lack of refrigeration and overhandling. Kenya has seen international investment in leading supermarket chain Naivas as well as the entry of both Carrefour and Shoprite. Both international retailers also have stores in Uganda.
