Jaleel Holdings, the UAE’s largest consumer goods wholesaler, has opened its largest distribution facility in Dubai Industrial City at an investment of 90 million UAE dirhams ($24.5 million).

The opening ceremony was presided over by Mariam Bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai Industrial City said in a press statement.

The facility, with a total built-up area of 281,000 sq. ft, comprises Jaleel Cash & Carry store and integrated logistics centre of Crosswell Logistics, according to the statement.

The Cash and Carry store will ensure a 30-day stock for all customers and fulfil the daily requirements of hotels, restaurants, caterers, retailers, offices and bulk-buying families, while the logistics centre will offer transport services and more than 28,000 metric tonnes of palletised storage capacity in temperature-controlled environment ranging from ambient to -20 degrees C.

Sameer K Mohammed, Managing Director of Jaleel Holdings, said the logistics venture will enable the company to offer 4 PL services to the market.

“This state-of-the-art logistics centre has been built keeping sustainability and environment goals in mind. We also believe this would help us to play a part in the food security drive of the nation as it would help us to stock 30 days basic food necessities for 500,000 individuals.”

Sustainability elements integrated into the facility include warehouse management system to ensure paperless operations, real time monitoring through mobile app to efficient operations and track energy usage, advanced skylights with U-value of less than 1 and sensor-controlled lights to reduce energy consumption, and standing seam roof capable of accommodating 2.5 megawatts of solar panels

The new facility also features an ammonia plant to manage temperature while an average of 9,000 litres of water from the cooling equipment is recycled daily for all irrigation, sanitation, and flushing requirements.

Jaleel Holdings owns and operates retail, wholesale, distribution and processing companies in the fresh food and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sectors. With a presence in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Ghana, the group is one of the largest consumer goods distributors in the region.

(Writing by SA Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)