$20m pharmaceuticals warehouse built in Kenya

24th October 2014

  

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Logistics company Imperial Logistics’ Africa-focused healthcare supply chain management provider last month started the construction of a $20- million pharmaceuticals storage and distribution facility in Nairobi, Kenya.

Imperial Health Sciences MD Dr Iain Barton states that the project started on September 15 and is scheduled for completion in October and to be commissioned in November 2015. He says the state-of-the-art facility is in response to a dire need for improvement in the delivery of healthcare products in East Africa.

“The custom-built warehouse forms part of our active delivery of healthcare and storage solutions in developing markets, where there is a shortage of warehouse facilities that meet the requirements for effective, quality-assured pharmaceuticals warehousing and distribution.

“Healthcare practitioners in some areas are faced with a growing burden of complex disease management, which is aggravated by ageing infrastructures and unreliable supply of essential medicines,” Barton says, adding that without sustainable warehousing infrastructure and supply chain systems in place, practitioners in the field do not have access to safe, secure and reliable supply of medicines in line with best-practice quality standards.

The warehouse is located on Mombasa road in Nairobi and is 9 564 m2 in size. It will offer 5 361 pharmaceuticals pallet locations, as well as 3 978 consumer and 466 cold chain pallet locations. The development also includes a 1 000 m2 office area and a conference and training centre.

Barton says the warehouse will also contribute to job creation, adding that Imperial Health Sciences currently has 96 employees in Nairobi and that it projects increasing that number to 180 when the facility is up and running in 2015.

“At peak periods during the construction phase, the project will create employment for 400 Kenyan nationals. Sustainability initiatives at the new facility will include solar powered external lighting and electric fencing; light-emitting diode lighting in all offices; energy efficient, sensor operated industrial fittings in the warehouse; energy efficient air conditioning units throughout the facility and solar heated hot water.

“Thermo-protection paint and energy reducing insulation is being used to minimise the facility’s heating and cooling requirements. The development will also harvest rainwater, and will have its own water purification plant,” Barton explains.

He further highlights that the construction of the facility has been awarded to a Kenyan consortium contractor. Imperial Health Sciences has operations in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and Malawi, with downstream distribution partners providing reach into 26 countries.

“We view ourselves as more than just a logistics supplier, but our focus is on forging partnerships in the healthcare supply chain and to offer flexible solutions and joint value creation in all channels to ensure the secure and sustainable supply of quality medicines to the people of Africa,” Barton concludes.

Edited by Megan van Wyngaardt
Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

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