Cold Storage Warehouses in Dubai: Requirements, Costs and Where to Find Them

Dubai imports most of its food, and demand for temperature-controlled space keeps growing with grocery delivery, restaurant supply and pharmaceuticals. Cold storage is also the most expensive and most regulated kind of warehouse to rent. Here is what you need to know before you sign.

Chilled, frozen or controlled ambient

• Chilled: Dubai Municipality’s food safety rules require chilled food to be held at 5°C or colder.
• Frozen: frozen food must be held at -18°C or colder.
• Controlled ambient: steady, moderate temperatures for products such as chocolate or some pharmaceuticals.

Many operators need more than one zone. Plan the split before you look at buildings, because converting a room later is costly.

The approvals

Storing food commercially in Dubai needs sign-off from the Food Safety Department of Dubai Municipality, and your trade licence must cover the storage activity. Expect inspectors to look for:

• a food safety management system based on HACCP
• pest control
• cleaning and traceability records
• separation of raw, dry, chilled and frozen stock

Pharmaceutical storage has its own regulator and rules. Fire and life-safety approval from Dubai Civil Defence applies as for any warehouse.

What to check in the building

• Insulation: panel walls, ceilings and doors in good condition, and insulated floors in freezer rooms (poor floors heave over time).
• Refrigeration plant: its capacity, age and maintenance history, and whether there is backup.
• Power and standby generator: cold stores draw far more kW than dry warehouses, and a failure costs stock.
• Temperature monitoring and alarms with records you can show an inspector.
• Loading: dock shelters or insulated doors, to keep the cold chain intact while trucks load.
• Racking and floor drainage suitable for the temperatures.

What it costs

A fitted cold store rents at a multiple of a dry warehouse. Among the units we saw in September 2026:

• small cold rooms of about 3,400 sq ft in Ras Al Khor – Al Awir were asking around AED 170 per sq ft per year
• a 55,000 sq ft cold storage facility in Dubai Industrial City was asking around AED 200 per sq ft

Dry warehouses in the same period were mostly AED 60-100 per sq ft (see rent prices by area). Add a much higher DEWA bill. The alternative is to rent a dry warehouse and fit it out yourself. That needs the landlord’s consent, Civil Defence and Municipality approvals, and a lease long enough to recover the cost.

Where to look

• Dubai Industrial City, which has a dedicated food and beverage zone
• JAFZA, which offers purpose-built cold storage warehouses for food and pharmaceuticals
• Ras Al Khor and Al Awir, for smaller cold rooms close to the city and the markets
• Al Quoz and Al Qusais, for last-mile chilled distribution

Frequently asked questions

What temperature must chilled and frozen food be stored at in Dubai?

Dubai Municipality requires chilled food at 5°C or below and frozen food at -18°C or below.

Do I need Dubai Municipality approval for a cold store?

Yes, for food. The Food Safety Department of Dubai Municipality must approve the facility, and your licence must include the storage activity.

How much does cold storage cost in Dubai?

Fitted cold stores rent for far more than dry space. In September 2026 we saw roughly AED 170-200 per sq ft per year, against AED 60-100 for dry warehouses, plus higher power costs.

Can I convert a normal warehouse into cold storage?

Often yes, with the landlord’s consent, enough power, and approval from Civil Defence and Dubai Municipality. It makes sense on a longer lease.

Sources

• Dubai Municipality Food Safety – business requirements
• Meydan Free Zone – Opening a cold storage warehouse in Dubai
• Manchu Transport – Food holding temperatures in Dubai (2026)
• Jafza – Warehouses (cold storage)

Header photo: Refrigeration Warehouse by Walmart Corporate, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.