More logistic firms want to provide vaccine warehousing

MANILA, Philippines — More and more logistics players want to participate in the warehousing requirements for COVID-19 vaccines.

Property tycoon Edgar “Injap” Sia II, for one, said his logistics business may participate in such a program and help fulfill the cold storage requirements of the vaccines.

“We will gladly be open to assist in any way we can with the vaccine storage if the availability of the various CentralHub complexes will be able to align with the Philippine vaccine distribution timeline,” Sia said.

Industrial warehouse leasing, through CentralHub is DoubleDragon’s latest pillar of growth in addition to provincial retail leasing, office leasing and hotels.

Each hub would contain modern standardized multi-use warehouses which is expected to fulfill the requirements of the top fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, retailers, fast food brands, cold storage providers, logistics operators and e-commerce companies alike.

CentralHub is envisioned to become the leading provider of industrial warehouses in the Philippines.  In all, the company aims to have at least 100,000 square meters of leasable industrial warehouse space across the country.

The Wongchuking Group is also already in talks with the Department of Health (DOH) for possible participation in the vaccine storage process.

The group’s logistics business, T12 Polo Land is into cold storage capacity. It currently has 56 warehouses that are about 1,000 square meters each in Guiguinto, Bulacan.

Caesar Wongchuking, director of the company and son of the late cigarette tycoon Wong Chu King, said that in Bulacan alone, the group has a cold storage facility.

“We have about 3,000 sqm of cold storage facility,” he said, adding that this can handle the vaccine requirements.

The group also has logistics facilities in Iloilo with a size of about 4,300 sqm, which can likewise cater to the government’s vaccine storage needs.

The MVP Group of tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan is also in talks with the government for possible participation in the logistics and warehousing requirements of COVID-19 vaccines.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) president and CEO Jose Ma. K. Lim earlier said the listed conglomerate, through its logistics arm, may be able to provide the storage and distribution requirements of COVID-19 vaccines.

The Duterte administration is in the process of bringing in vaccines for the Philippines with an estimated order for at least 40 million Filipinos, of which 20 million of the poorest of the poor and frontliners, will be in the priority list of recipients to be given vaccines.

Lim said MPIC could participate in this process through MPIC’s MetroPac Movers Inc. (MMI). MMI announced earlier that it is building the country’s most modern logistics hub in Sta. Rosa City in Laguna.

The facility will rise on a 52,000 square meter site along the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road. It will have a dry goods warehouse and a refrigerated warehouse that will offer 17,500 pallet positions.

MMI is targeting to open the facility within the second quarter with both warehouses to lead the industry in product security systems, radio frequency inventory control systems, fire and safety systems, staff training and expertise, and will offer truly international standard facilities and services to the Philippine market.