Largest cold store warehouse facility opens in Howrah

Kolkata: The largest cold store warehouse facility in the country was inaugurated in Howrah on Thursday.

The new cold storage which has been constructed through financial assistance from the UK government has a capacity to store 85,000 tonne of food products.

Crystal Logistics Cool Chain limited, a cold chain logistics company inaugurated the expansion of its cold storage warehouse in Howrah with a capacity of 11,000 pallets, up from 5,000 pallets earlier, a press statement issued by the British Deputy High Commission Office in Kolkata said.

Apart from holding a huge amount of food products, the new warehouse will also improve market access which will help in increasing household income of

the people.

The fund is provided by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) to help low income states with equity partnerships for small infrastructure development. Senior representatives from DFID inaugurated the facility.

Bruce Bucknell, British Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata said: "I am delighted that the UK is supporting this expansion of an important business district in Bengal. The development of the cold chain infrastructure will allow more agricultural and food products to reach wider markets."

According to a senior official of the British Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, the increased cold storage capacity will benefit players across the marine value chain linking fishermen to large exporters. It will enable the prevention of food waste by creating infrastructure that can house seasonal and perishable food products.

Various products which are stored and shipped through the facility will cater to the exporters and institutional consumers.

The Department for International Development (DFID) India is a United Kingdom government department responsible for fostering development partnership between the UK and India. The goal of the department is to eliminate world poverty and promote sustainable

development.