Djibouti Storage Assessment

Warehouses with good storage conditions are available in Free Zones. The inconvenience is that they are bounded warehouse; as a result, this status reduces flexibility which may impact operationally on humanitarian activities aiming to save lives in an emergency operation.
With the continued growth of Port operations in Djibouti, several investors have decided to build warehouses. As a result, Djibouti’s capacity storage will be increased.
In addition and in close collaboration with GoD, WFP has got a plot from the government to erect a logistics Hub which will be able to accommodate more than 20,000 Mt of food as well as 5,000m3 of NFI of Humanitarian assistance. Furthermore 4 silos with a capacity of 10,000 MTN each are also projected to be built and completion expected to be between 2014/15.
Due to high temperatures and humidity in Djibouti, the rotation period of food commodities stored in Djibouti should be less than 4 months especially for Flour.

Commercial Storage

All commercial warehouses in the list are currently rented by WFP. No relevant storages exist in town which are not already taken. See in the attachment complete list of warehouses

Storage Used by Humanitarian Organizations

The Government of Djibouti has made available to WFP Ethiopia a plot of land of approximately 50,000 m2 where WFP Ethiopia plans to construct a Humanitarian Logistics Base (HLB). The HLB will not only sensibly improve WFP’s supply chain for aid destined to Ethiopia but will also bring a number of strategic advantages to the humanitarian community effort in the region.
This vast perimeter of land gives WFP the possibility to plan for HLB to become a truly multipurpose facility capable of handling both food and non-food items as well as to provide facilities to host meetings, workshops and trainings.
The HLB will be built to have a storage capacity of 20,000 MT of bulk and 10,000 MT of break bulk. The warehouse will also provide an area for non-food items storage with an efficient racking system that will maximize storage space.
Moreover, the HLB will also be capable to act as a container yard terminal where arrangements with the Djiboutian Government foresee the HLB to become a designated container terminal for humanitarian cargo.
Various construction options are currently being considered. The driving rationale will rest on key principles such as flexibility, modular capabilities and demands of the supply chain.

Public Sector Storage

Majority of good storage facilities are located in Free Zones or at PAID. PAID have an open storage with capacity of 70,000 MTN of steel, an off-dock automobile storage with capacity for 3000 units opened in January 2009. Djibouti Free Zone operational since October 2004 is developed near the Port and Airport with warehouses of 614 m2 and 1,340 m2; Land plots serviced with utilities ranging from 2,000 m2 to 15,000 m2; light industrial units of 510 m2 with integrated office units plus 1 hangar of 9,100 m2 currently utilized by BMMI which stores pre-position aid from USAID/FFP

Cold Chain