In a major development, Abu Dhabi Ports has acquired 11 new specialised refrigerated vehicles by its subsidiary, MICCO Logistics. This acquisition has been made in line with Abu Dhabi Port's strategic long-term objective to expand its overall capabilities and enhance the UAE's COVID-19 vaccine supply chain.

As a part of Abu Dhabi Port's extensive strategy to diversify MICCO’s growing vehicle fleet, the acquisition will boost its local final-mile vaccine delivery capability to more than 1.1 million vaccine doses in a single day.

This enhancement also strengthens the efforts of the Hope Consortium to transport necessary COVID-19 vaccines to several countries in need. Hope Consortium is an Abu Dhabi-led public-private partnership developed to tackle logistical challenges posed by the pandemic to deliver large quantities of COVID-19 vaccines locally and globally from its main hub in Abu Dhabi.

The acquisition amplifies the scope of services provided by Abu Dhabi Ports as well as its diversified range of supply-chain solutions for last-mile delivery of COVID-19 vaccines with certification from the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH).

The new specialised vehicles are connected to "mUnity" - Maqta Gateway’s digital blockchain-enabled solution - to support the Consortium robust mission. Maqta Gateway’s mUnity helps in tracking the journey of vaccines through the supply chain in real-time. It further facilitates safe, efficient and transparent delivery of the vaccines to any location in record time.

Commenting on the acquisition, Robert Sutton, Head of Logistics Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports, said that Abu Dhabi has emerged as a strong leader with its investment in advanced technology. It not only helps in extending services to its healthcare sector partners, but also furthers the achievement of the Hope Consortium's goal to overcome the pandemic and ensure sustainable recovery, he noted.

Sutton further expressed Abu Dhabi Ports' commitment to diversifying and extending its logistical solutions to accommodate all types of vaccines with the help of the new specialised final-mile fleet.

"By working closely with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), we are ensuring that MICCO is equipped with the most advanced chilled vehicles currently available on the market, elevating our emirate’s logistics capabilities for years to come," he added.

The brand-new fleet is equipped with complete data loggers and advanced temperature monitoring, which makes it capable of transporting vaccines, medical equipment, or pharmaceutical products from Abu Dhabi Ports' cold and ultra-cold storage facility in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD) to specific healthcare centres across the UAE.

The fleet also consists of cooling equipment to safely manage those vaccines that require a temperature range of 2 C to 8 C, along with -80 C with the use of specialised packaging.

On his part, Clifford D’souza, Executive Vice President & COO of MICCO Logistics, affirmed that this investment will boost the overall capabilities of MICCO to transport vaccines and other temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products to various areas across the UAE with safety and efficiency and across a wide-range of temperature bands.

MICCO's ability to integrate advanced digital systems to facilitate monitoring and tracking of vaccines and other pharmaceuticals in real-time provides assurance of full product transparency and integrity to its customers, including hospitals, clinics, vaccine centres, and testing centres.

"Through these solutions, we are positively reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s supply chain and its capability to tackle one of the greatest challenges of our age," he added.

WAM