AD Ports launches advanced logistics hub at Kizad

KLP21 will have more than 80,000 square metres of capacity and be one of the region’s largest food and healthcare storage hubs

Containers at Abu Dhabi's Khalifa Port. Reuters

Abu Dhabi Ports Group, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed operator of industrial cities and free zones in the emirate, has announced the launch of KLP21, its new advanced warehousing and logistics hub.

The new facility will be operational later in the third quarter of this year, the company said.

KLP21 is situated in the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad), the group’s integrated trade, logistics and industrial zone located between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the company said in a statement.

KLP21 is next to the forthcoming regional food hub along the main E311 cargo corridor, ensuring direct connectivity to all major markets.

“The development of KLP21 builds upon our fully integrated offering under AD Ports group’s economic cities and free zones portfolio that brings together the entire scope of services required for industrial businesses to thrive,” said Abdullah Al Hameli, chief executive of economic cities & free zones cluster, AD Ports Group.

Comprising four warehouses with more than 80,000 square metres of capacity, KLP21 will be one of the largest and the most advanced temperature-controlled logistics hubs in the region, the company said.

The warehouses will be able to accommodate more than 100,000 pallets across a network of chambers which can be independently configured to a range of sizes and temperatures, from -26°C to 25°C, it said.

It has been is tailor-made to support critical regional industries requiring cold and ambient storage, including sectors such as health care, food and beverages, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and speciality chemicals, the statement said.

Among the benefits for potential customers, it will offer a full suite of third-party logistics (3PL) and fourth-party logistics (4PL) services, regional logistics hub operations and value-added services including repacking, speciality packing and labelling.

“This milestone facility significantly increases AD Ports Logistics’ current cold and ambient temperature storage capacity and provides international and domestic companies with outstanding opportunities to enter or expand their presence within a region that is primed for sustained growth,” said Robert Sutton, chief executive, logistics cluster, AD Ports Group.

Backed by access to strategic multimodal transport capabilities, including direct access to two major ports, five international airports within a 90-minute driving distance, congestion-free multi-lane highways and Etihad Rail’s future rail link, KLP21 will offer potential partners and customers direct and efficient access to key local, regional and global markets, the company said

The hub will be served by a fleet of more than 400 transport vehicles, supporting both domestic and cross-border road movements.

Developed by Kizad, two of the hub's four warehouses, spanning 40,000 square metres, will be operated by AD Ports Logistics.

For AD Ports Logistics, it will add more than 350,000 square metres of logistics storage space, including its Kizad-based 19,000-square-metre cold and ultra-cold storage facility that has been the cornerstone of Abu Dhabi’s global efforts against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Established in 2006, AD Ports Group currently serves as the region’s premier facilitator of logistics, industry and trade, as well as a bridge linking Abu Dhabi to the world.