Context

At present, Cambodia has an under-developed cold chain ecosystem which is hindering the country’s ability to capitalize on the export of perishable fruits to the region and the rest of the world. Existing cold chain facilities are built by large conglomerates for their own use and negligible capacity is available for use by the local farmers, agribusinesses and food retailers.

Based on the feasibility study that has been conducted, Cambodia’s current cold storage capacity is 176,664 m³ and the demand for cold storage capacity is expected to grow ~79% to 317,076 m³ by 2030.

The Project

The Project Company is a temperature-controlled logistics services provider in Cambodia. A Land lease agreement and an Operating agreement has been signed with the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) in Q4 2021. Phase 1 of the project is a cross-docking facility located adjacent to PPAP located in Kean Svay District, Kandal Province on the national road No. 1 and in the vicinity of the Lower Mekong River which connects to Vietnam and China. The distribution facility is in the vicinity of the Phnom Penh port to enable both the export and import of fresh agriculture produce.

The overall objectives of the project are to enable:

• Affordable logistics services to local small and medium sized enterprises and farmers, including access to temperature-controllable storage facilities which are usually limited to only large conglomerates and food chains
• Local fruit producers to meet safety standards required by international markets
• Local producers to improve economic efficiency and competitiveness by having facilities that ensure their produce’s shelf lives and quality for export markets
• Access to key infrastructure, temperature-controlled logistics and distribution services for importers to be able to maintain and delivery quality products to local consumers.

Our Impact

Impact on End Users: The project is targeting small and medium businesses and is expected to improve and expand cold storage supply chains directly engaging smallholder farmers.

Transforming Markets: The project will be first of its kind in terms of privately owned but publicly accessible port-linked cold storage in Cambodia and is expected to lead to the replication of similar projects