Abdulla Bin Mohamed Al Hamed, Chairman of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), recently visited the ultra-modern temperature-controlled warehouse facility of the Abu Dhabi Ports in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD). Home of the Hope Consortium, the COVID-19 vaccine storage warehouse is one of the largest state-of-the-art pharmaceutical logistics facilities in the world. It has the capacity of handling and storing up to 120 million COVID-19 vaccine doses at one point in time along with their associated consumables.

During the visit, Al Hamed was welcomed and greeted by Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Group CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports and Chairman of the Operations Steering Committee of the HOPE Consortium, along with Abdullah Al Hameli, Head of Industrial Cities and Free Zone Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports and Robert Sutton, Head of Logistics Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports in the presence of other officials from the Hope Consortium.

He took a tour of the 19,000 square meter facility which has the potential to manage and store all types of vaccines and pharmaceutical products at the specialized temperature range of +8 C to -80 C. The warehouse has ambient temperature storage for different pharmaceutical consumables that enhances the facility's capacity to handle and store various types of COVID-19 vaccines currently available across the world.

Addressing the gathering, Abdulla Al Hamed underlined that Abu Dhabi has proven its potential to overcome the challenges posed by COVID-19 and spread hope with the support and guidance of the UAE’s wise leadership and investment in world-class infrastructure in the emirate.

"This has been evident through the leadership's efforts to maintain the health and safety of all members of its community and people around the world. Abu Dhabi did not stop at being one of the leading cities with a vaccinated population against COVID-19, it also actively contributed to the development of such vaccines, through being home to some of the largest clinical trials globally and now with one of the largest capacities globally to handle the specialized task of transport, storage, and distribution of the much-needed vaccines worldwide," the Abu Dhabi-DoH Chairman added.

He lauded the crucial role played by Abu Dhabi Ports in supporting the efforts of the HOPE Consortium, reflecting the Emirati leadership's ambition that knows no limits. Al Hamed further underlined the contributions made by Abu Dhabi Ports in ensuring that the COVID-19 vaccines are available to all countries in need in the most efficient way. To facilitate the task, Abu Dhabi Ports carries out thorough research about the infrastructure of the countries receiving the vaccines, their storage capabilities, and the temperate they can deal with in order to safely deliver the vaccines.

Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi praised the continuous support of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi to spearhead and implement the Hope Consortium amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We continue to witness this today in their visit to the region’s largest vaccine storage facility and one the largest globally, which is a testament to the pioneering role in numerous fields, most notably the vital life science sector," Captain Al Shamisi added.

He underlined that the Hope Consortium is one of the world’s largest technology-led supply chain platforms, developed to safely and efficiently deliver the COVID-19 vaccines to countries in need while leveraging the strategic location of Abu Dhabi as an international and significant hub in the life sciences and logistics sector. Captain Al Shamisi noted that with the support of the unique collaboration of globally leading healthcare, pharmaceutical, humanitarian and logistical organizations, Abu Dhabi Ports are well-positioned to deliver hope and help countries worldwide overcome the COVID-19 pandemic under the guidance of the UAE leadership.

The warehouse has a comprehensive capacity of approximately 40,000 pallets which includes cold storage containing 25,000 pallets and an air-conditioned chamber with 15,000 pallets. In addition, it is equipped with dedicated freezing rooms that facilitate safe delivery and storage of ultra-cold vaccines requiring storage at down to -80 C temperature.

The Hope Consortium manifests Abu Dhabi's commitment to the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Significantly, it provides a complete supply-chain solution to address various issues related to the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to countries across the world, including transportation, demand planning, sourcing, training, and digital technology infrastructure.

The Consortium has consolidated its collective expertise to amass a multi-faceted capability to provide logistics services with the aim of handling around 6 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the year 2021 (rising to 18 billion by end of the year).

Spearheaded by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, the Consortium consists of Abu Dhabi Ports Group through its specialized logistics and digital solution; Etihad Cargo (the only IATA Certified for Pharma transport); Rated, healthcare purchasing arm of Abu Dhabi-based ADQ; and SkyCell, Switzerland’s award-winning company which develops next-generation, temperature-controlled logistics containers for the pharmaceutical industry.

Currently, the consortium is handling and managing the distribution of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses locally and globally in collaboration with its freight forwarding partners in more than 190 countries.

WAM