AFEZ's strategic location provides access to air, road, rail, as well as sea transport making it especially attractive to investors seeking efficient logistics solutions. Proximity to the Baku International Sea Trade Port and the development of a new cargo airport significantly enhance the business climate for investors in AFEZ.
Alat Bay Industrial Development AFEZCO (AlatBay) is among the first legal entities established in the Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ) and duly registered under the AFEZ legislation. AlatBay is a subsidiary of parent holding company - Galanth Group, based in UAE. Based on the license issued by the AFEZ Authority, AlatBay will engage in the provision of value-added logistics services and production of packaging materials in the AFEZ.
AlatBay Logistics Center, which will cover an area of 5 hectares, will mainly meet the import and export needs of legal entities in the AFEZ by road transportation, and will be also involved in transit cargo transportation.
The key aspiration for AlatBay is to become a modern logistics center, bringing industry innovation and advanced technologies. In order to support company’s strategic expansion, it will provide full range of logistics services to AFEZ legal entities and transit shippers, including warehousing, packaging, labeling, loading, and unloading, international transportation and expedition.
In addition, AlatBay will engage in the production of a wide range of eco-friendly packaging materials, including Big Bags and pallets.
According to investment plan of the company, the first phase of the project envisages to set-up 5,000 m2 logistics center to provide above mentioned logistics services to AFEZ legal entities. Construction works of AlatBay Logistics Center will commence shortly, and it will start to operate from April 2023. In the second phase, it is planned to expand the logistics center and construct packaging materials production facility and euro pallet manufacturing factory, which will be completed by the end of 2023,and will be ready to operate from the beginning of 2024. In the same year, construction works to expand production and storage premises within the third phase are expected to commence and start to operate at a full capacity in 2025.
AlatBay Logistics Center will encompass three types of storages with the capacity of 5,000 pallets in an area of 12,000 m2, including:
All premises and facilities will be built according to the modern construction standards, using advanced technological solutions and green technology where applicable.
The AlatBay project will impact regional supply chains within Trans-Caucasian and Trans-Caspian routes, both on the East-West and South-North directions, enhance the position of Azerbaijan as a regional logistics hub, contribute to the development of non-oil sector of economy, and add value to the export-oriented activities and businesses.
AlatBay will contribute to the regional economic development in below listed several directions, which are not limited to:
AlatBay will also contribute to green environment by producing eco-friendly packaging materials, reducing electricity consumption and contamination of water sources.
The warehouses to be built by AlatBay are expected to follow high technological standards that minimizes the environmental impact. The environmental impact has two main components: the reduction in the number of trips, and the impact from the switch to a green warehouse. Ammonia refrigerating system will be installed due to its multiple benefits over Freon system, including a much lower environmental impact.
Key system advantages briefly described below:
A heat recovery system and high-standard insulation will also contribute to minimize the environmental impact of the warehouse, as Shell & Plate Heat Exchanger is planned to be installed on the ammonia screw compressor discharge line. A high-standard polyurethane insulation is proposed for the warehouse walls, doors, dock shelters, pipes, and tanks. The overall insulation system proposed for the facility has a superior quality compared to other cold-chain warehouses in the region. Additionally, remote temperature monitoring tools will be deployed, enabling real-time detection of system inefficiencies and control of the cold-chain chambers. With all mentioned features of warehouse, the total electricity consumption reduction is expected to be between 40% and 50%.
In addition, the roofs of the buildings in the AlatBay Logistics Center will be equipped with solar panels, which will lead to the generation of renewable clean energy.
The entire technical design of the premises were conducted based on EDGE Green Methodology, and green certification process has been started with the support of EBRD and international consultants.
AFEZ is located in vicinity of Baku International Sea Trade Port. Within the first phase the total annual handling capacity of the Port was 15 million tons in 2023, approximately 45% of which was used in the previous year. With the development of the Middle Corridor, the annual handling capacity is expected to increase up to 25 million tons in the second phase.
Cargo Airport will be established at the territory of the AFEZ in order to meet the needs of AFEZ legal entities and any other interested parties in cargo transportation. The implementation of this project has already started. The capacity of the airport will be 500,000 tons annually at the first stage, with further gradual increase reaching up to 1.5 million tons per year. It is expected that the Cargo Airport will be operational not later than the first quarter of 2026.