ESR Completes Chengdu Industrial Park as Group’s First Purpose-Built Cold Chain Facility

ESR has finished construction of its first purpose-built cold storage facility at the ESR Chengdu Qingbaijiang Cold Chain Industrial Park in China’s Sichuan province.

Completed in early 2023, the park comprises single- and multiple-storey cold storage facilities with a total gross floor area of more than 113,000 square metres (1.2 million square feet), ESR said Tuesday in a release.

The first and second phases of the project are 100 percent tenanted to several leading domestic e-commerce companies, according to the Hong Kong-listed industrial specialist, which highlighted Chengdu’s Qingbaijiang district as a key railway hub of the Belt and Road Initiative linking China’s supply chains with those of Europe and Asia.

“Chengdu Qingbaijiang Cold Chain Industrial Park is ESR’s first in-built cold storage facility, further expanding ESR’s footprint in China,” said ESR co-founder and co-CEO Jeffrey Shen. “We are proud that the project has been recognised by renowned e-commerce tenants in the country and we are committed to strengthen ESR’s cold chain development.”

Max Headroom

The industrial park’s single-storey cold storage facility has a maximum net height of 8 metres (26.2 feet), promising flexible stacking and shelf storage. The complex enables double-sided loading and unloading to enhance efficiency.

To ensure uninterrupted power supply and the quality of refrigerated goods, the facility provides backup power measures via dual circuits and diesel generator systems.

In addition to cold storage space, the facility features a 7,000 square metre integrated building that can serve as a place for catering, offices, conferences and staff accommodation.

Since the advent of the China-Europe (Chengdu) Railway Express in 2013, freight trains departing the Chengdu International Railway Port from Qingbaijiang have linked to over 100 cities in Europe, Mongolia, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia, transporting electronics, cars, smart appliances and advanced materials, ESR said, citing government reports.

Workbook Bears Fruit

ESR has assets under management of $32.5 billion and 14.3 million square metres of gross floor area in Greater China.

At the end of 2022, ESR had projects in progress valued at $11.9 billion, billed as the largest development workbook in Asia Pacific. The group touted a record $6.5 billion of development starts and $5.5 billion in completions that accelerated in the second half of 2022.

Backed by shareholders including the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, Singapore sovereign fund GIC and China’s JD.com, ESR manages $150 billion in total assets across Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.