NFPC’s Food Production Facility, Abu Dhabi

Construction of NFPC’s new food production facility was initiated in February 2016. Credit: Abu Dhabi Ports.

NFPC entered an agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports, the operator and manager of Kizad, in February 2014. Credit: Abu Dhabi Ports.

NFPC’s food production facility is being constructed in the Khalifa Industrial Zone (Kizad) in the UAE. Credit: Abu Dhabi Ports.

Kizad is well connected to roads, ports, rail and air networks. Credit: Abu Dhabi Ports.

National Food Product Company (NFPC), one of the biggest food producers in the UAE, broke ground for the construction of a new 752,000m² state-of-the-art food production facility in Khalifa Industrial Zone (Kizad) in the UAE, in February 2016.

The facility will produce some of NFPC’s leading food products such as Oasis water products, Milco dairy products and Lacnor juices. It is scheduled to become operational in the first quarter of 2018.

The food producer signed a 50-year agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports, the operator and manager of Kizad, in February 2014. It will initially invest AED1.5bn ($40.8m) in the production facility.

The strategic location of NFPC’s mega plant

The facility will be located in the food cluster in Kizad, which is situated between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The industrial park has multimodal connectivity to roads, ports, rail and air networks, which ensures easy accessibility. Companies can have market access through Khalifa Port, the first semi-automated port in the GCC region, which offers access to more than 4.5 billion people within four time zones.

All companies in Kizad are organised in vertically integrated clusters, in close proximity to one another, offering down, mid and upstream producers cost-effective production lines.

The industrial park also offers low utility costs and a business environment with government agencies and other licensing authorities providing support to initiate and operate the business quickly and effectively.

Facilities at the mega food plant in Kizad

NFPC’s plant will feature a range of facilities, including operational factory units, storage areas and a recycling plant.

The initial phases of the project will include the installation of a 45,000m², five-gallon water bottling plant and a combined 120,000m² water bottling plant for Milco dairy, Lacnor juice and Oasis products.

The integrated plant will have modern amenities and feature advanced technology solutions similar to those offered in the world’s leading water, juice and dairy facilities. It will be equipped with energy and water-saving features, including solar panels to generate hot water and thermal energy.

Other facilities at the plant will include a wastewater treatment plant, a 10,000m² office building, and a 2,800m² central district cooling plant with a total refrigeration capacity of 18,000t.

Later phases of construction will involve the development of a fully automated packaging factory, a modern recycling plant and a fully automated cold store.

The packaging factory will produce containers custom-made for the food industry. The recycling plant will recycle waste material to produce new products, and the 150,000t cold storage will serve Khalifa Port customers and other ancillary buildings.

NFPC food production facility construction

The facility will be constructed in two phases. Phase one will involve the construction of a five-gallon water bottling plant, a combined water bottling plant, a wastewater treatment plant, an office building, and a central cooling plant. Plot-wide infrastructure and network roads will also be constructed during phase one.

Phase two construction will include the development of approximately a 150,000m² area, in which the packaging factory, recycling plant and automated cold storage will be constructed.

Production at NFPC’s Kizad facility

Claimed to become one of the world’s biggest water bottling plants, the five-gallon water bottling facility will bottle approximately 12,000 20l bottles an hour.

The combined bottling plant will have an hourly capacity to fill 72,000 bottles of different sizes, including 1.5l, 0.5l and 0.33l. It will feature fully integrated lines that will produce minimum bottles and caps weights, not yet produced in Asia.

Contractors involved

Integrated Environmental Services (IES), an environmental engineering consultancy firm based in Abu Dhabi, is providing estidama and commissioning services for the project.

Benefits of the new facility

The investment allows NFPC to enhance its operational capabilities in the region and provides new scope for the growth of its brands in the food and beverage sector.

It will also help to meet the growing demand for food products in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, which is expected to grow at a 3.5% annual growth rate between 2014 and 2019 to 51.9 million metric tonnes.