Cold room design in East Africa: what really drives the cost

Cold chain investment is rising in East Africa. Kenya's cold chain market was estimated at about US$321 million in 2023, while a dedicated fund backed by the African Development Bank is targeting cold storage across Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia. People increasingly search for cold room prices, but two quotes are only comparable if they answer the same brief.

Define these before asking for a price

• Product and temperature: flowers, avocados, dairy, meat and vaccines have different requirements.
• Daily throughput: how much enters each day, and at what temperature, often matters more than room size.
• Door traffic: loading patterns affect both the load and the door and dock design.
• Site conditions: coastal heat and salt differ from highland conditions, so state the location.
• Power: confirm supply capacity and what must stay on during an outage.

Power can decide the project

Stakeholders planning regional cold hubs have pointed to electricity availability and temperature management as conditions for success. Compare the running cost, backup and monitoring along with the capital price.

What a good quote should show

• Design conditions and calculated refrigeration load.
• Panel thickness, floor insulation and vapour barrier details.
• Refrigerant, equipment selections and standby arrangement.
• Electrical, drainage, fire and access interfaces, and who provides them.
• Commissioning tests and the temperature evidence provided at handover.

Want a cold room brief or quote checked?

We can review your brief, drawings and quotes remotely so you compare like with like. Discuss your cold room project.

Sources: FreshPlaza: Kenya cold chain investment, Food Business MEA: ARCH cold chain fund, HortiDaily: Kenya cold chain hub. Refrigeration safety and product requirements need specialist review.