Majid Al Futtaim, a leading shopping mall, retail and leisure pioneer, will open a major new distribution centre for Carrefour at the National Industries Park (NIP) in Dubai, UAE.

The centre, once operational, will be the largest and most advanced distribution hub of its kind for Carrefour in the region, said a statement from the company.

The facility is constructed on a land area of 1.5 million sq ft and offers a built-up area of over 800,000 sq ft, almost four times the size of Carrefour’s current largest distribution centre building in the region, it said.

The centre will also feature advanced warehousing, storage and logistics technologies, it added.

The multi-temperature storage at the new distribution centre is designed to meet the storage needs of the different food types including fruits, vegetables, meat and dry foods as well as warehousing for non-food goods.

With a total storage capacity of over 400 million units, the new distribution hub is expected to save over 50 per cent energy per cubic metre and manage more than 150,000 orders per day to support Carrefour’s brick and mortar stores in addition to the omni-channel business of Carrefour, said a statement.

Miguel Povedano, executive regional director, Carrefour UAE, said: “With our new distribution centre in NIP, we have significantly expanded our operational capabilities in the region in terms of storage facilities as well as technological infrastructure.”

“We continue to look at the Middle East and North Africa as one of the key growth regions for Carrefour and one that we will continue to invest in over the coming years. We are confident that this new facility will help us deliver even better quality of products and services to our customers,” he added.

Younis Al Mulla, senior vice president – development and government affairs, Majid Al Futtaim Retail, said: “It gives us great pleasure at in establishing this strategic partnership with NIP and in the development of our central warehousing and distribution facility within their premises.”

“As part of our company’s vision, we are committed to constantly improving our operational facilities and capabilities for delivering high value to our customers in the UAE and other operating markets,” he said.

“In addition to being our largest distribution centre in the region, the facility at NIP is also highly energy efficient and will help us become more environmentally friendly, while reducing the overall carbon footprint of our stores,” he added.

Mohammed Al Muallem, senior vice president and managing director, UAE region of DP World, said: “I welcome Majid Al Futtaim, one of the leading national companies, to the NIP to establish their advanced integrated logistics centre.”

“The company is renowned regionally and globally for their pioneering contribution to the retail and leisure industry and we are confident of providing Majid Al Futtaim with distinctive logistic solutions that meet their requirements for various markets,” he said.

“NIP has an advanced multi-modal connectivity that reduces transportation duration, especially in reaching the Mena countries, through our flagship Jebel Ali Port and the Al Maktoum International Airport,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service