Abu Dhabi Ports said it is playing a vital role in the global fight against COVID-19 by providing logistics capabilities for the storage and distribution of more than 70 million vaccines.

In a statement, the Port said amid an anticipated surge in vaccine logistics demand, Abu Dhabi is cementing its position as the global logistics hub by spearheading the launch of the "Hope Consortium", a UAE-based public-private partnership, of which Abu Dhabi Ports is a member, that will facilitate the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the world.

As part of its commitment to this, Abu Dhabi Ports said it has dedicated a 19,000 square metre temperature-controlled warehouse facility in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD), which already houses more than 1 million vials of the vaccine.

Warehouse for extreme temperature requirements

"The technologically advanced facility has the capability to store vaccines and other pharmaceutical products at a range of 2 to 8 degrees as well as the more extreme range of -80 degrees. The facility is equipped with temperature and humidity systems monitored digitally via a control dashboard," it said. 

The Hope Consortium represents all of Abu Dhabi’s supply chain solution actors, led by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. As well as Abu Dhabi Ports, it includes Etihad Cargo, Rafed, and Switzerland’s award-winning SkyCell.

“As our nation’s key strategic logistics enabler, we have invested in one of the region’s largest and most expansive logistics capabilities. This makes us uniquely positioned to support our government’s vision and facilitate the immunisation efforts to positively impact millions of lives. Abu Dhabi Ports is ready to play a leading role in the end-to-end supply chain including storing, processing, and distributing this extremely sensitive product,” said Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Group CEO, Abu Dhabi Ports.

Robert Sutton, head of logistics cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports, said the port is able to receive and store clinical, pharmaceutical and life science materials at moderate and extreme temperature ranges.

“Our Department of Health-licenced facility fully integrates the movement of cargo with state-of-the-art temperature, humidity, and refrigeration-controlled technology. Abu Dhabi Ports, through our highly-advanced infrastructure and multimodal connectivity, is ready and able to meet the challenges of distributing sensitive pharmaceuticals quickly across the supply chain,” he added.