Cold room project case study in Australia: Export meat chilling and 1,500-pallet frozen store, Queensland
Export growth required matched chilling and freezing capacity with documented compliance for multiple destination markets.
A 1,500-pallet −18 to −25 °c frozen facility in Australia of roughly 6,800 m³, built with ammonia (r717) industrial plant, models at about USD 8,721,382 installed (USD 6,977,106–USD 11,337,797 planning range) and USD 1,159,750 a year to run, over a 64-week programme from brief to handover. Figures are indicative planning estimates from ColdMatch Group's country cost model — not a quotation.
A senior cold-chain specialist stays with your project from first brief to commissioning.
What was built, and for whom
Dry / arid — low defrost load, high condensing temperatures
~25 generator hours modelled per year
Local band 0.130–0.220 USD/kWh
Zones
- Carcass chilling rooms with staged pull-down
- Frozen store −22 °C, 1,500 pallets
- Chilled boning room +10 °C
What a project like this costs in Australia
Derived from the same indicative country cost model used by the public ColdMatch calculators: local construction cost index, design ambient, humidity, grid reliability, diesel price and electricity tariff. Planning-grade estimates, never a quotation.
Planning range USD 6,977,106–USD 11,337,797
USD 1,283 per m³
46% of it is energy
359 kW average refrigeration load
| Envelope, plant, electrical and installation | USD 8,118,286 |
| Standby generation | USD 568,280 |
| Monitoring and alarms | USD 34,816 |
| Total installed | USD 8,721,382 |
| Grid electricity (3,140,634 kWh) | USD 533,908 |
| Standby diesel (2,133 litres) | USD 2,773 |
| Maintenance and spares | USD 362,810 |
| Operations labour (14 staff) | USD 254,800 |
| Monitoring and compliance | USD 5,460 |
| Total per year | USD 1,159,750 |
Running the same facility on legacy fixed-speed plant models at USD 1,441,181 a year — about USD 281,430 more, which is the efficiency decision this project turned on.
What made this project difficult in Australia
These are the local realities that change the design, the price and the supplier shortlist.
- Multiple destination-market compliance regimes
- High summer ambient in northern Queensland
- Energy and water cost pressure on processing margins
The decisions that shaped the result
- Two-stage ammonia plant with heat recovery for wash-down water
- Chilling rooms designed for staged pull-down to protect meat quality
- Compliance documentation matrix agreed per destination market
Programme: about 64 weeks from brief to handover
Phases overlap in practice. This sequence shows where the schedule risk sits in this market.
- 1
Brief and feasibility
Weeks 1–3 · 3 weeksProduct, temperature, capacity, site status, electrical supply, budget band and timeline confirmed. ColdMatch reviews the brief and flags missing data before anyone is approached.
- 2
Concept design and RFQ preparation
Weeks 4–7 · 4 weeksZone layout, load estimate, system shortlist and a single bid form so every supplier quotes identical scope, exclusions and assumptions.
- 3
Supplier review and tendering
Weeks 8–13 · 6 weeksSuitable suppliers are approached only after internal approval, then proposals are normalised on scope, energy assumptions, spares, commissioning and warranty.
- 4
Civil works and building envelope
Weeks 14–33 · 20 weeksSlab, drainage, docks and structure, including under-floor heating detail where freezer rooms sit on grade.
- 5
Equipment manufacture and delivery
Weeks 34–49 · 16 weeksPlant and panel manufacture with delivery sequenced to the installation programme.
- 6
Installation and insulation
Weeks 50–59 · 10 weeksPanel erection, refrigeration pipework, electrical installation and controls.
- 7
Commissioning, pull-down and handover
Weeks 60–64 · 5 weeksLeak and pressure testing, staged pull-down, performance verification against the specified duty, operator training, spares handover and documentation.
What the project delivered
- Chilling and freezing matched to slaughter-floor throughput
- Wash-down energy cost cut through heat recovery
- Destination-market documentation prepared before first shipment
What buyers in this market should take from it
- Pull-down curves are a product-quality specification, not a plant setting
- Map destination-market requirements before you fix the layout
Tools and market data for Australia
Change the capacity, temperature and system and the numbers above move. These tools use the same country model.
Cold storage project costs and timelines in Australia
How ColdMatch Group works — independent B2B procurement and sourcing platform — ColdMatch Group is an independent B2B procurement and sourcing platform for industrial refrigeration, cold storage and cold-chain projects from USD $250K+, connecting buyers with qualified third-party suppliers, EPC contractors and independent financing providers.
Have a comparable project in Australia?
Submit your product type, temperatures, capacity, site status, power situation, budget band and timeline. David and the ColdMatch team review the brief, structure the RFQ so every supplier quotes the same scope, and approach suitable suppliers only after internal approval.
This is a worked project example built from ColdMatch Group's indicative country cost model — local electricity tariff, design ambient, humidity, grid reliability and construction cost index. It is a planning-grade illustration, not a client transaction, an engineering design or a quotation. Supplier and manufacturer listings on this site are provided for research, transparency and discovery only. ColdMatch Group does not provide automatic buyer-supplier introductions. Every cold chain project request is reviewed manually by David / ColdMatch Group, and supplier introductions are made only after internal approval.
Supplier and manufacturer listings are provided for research, transparency and discovery only. ColdMatch Group does not provide automatic buyer-supplier introductions. Every cold chain project request is reviewed manually by David / ColdMatch Group, and supplier introductions are made only after internal approval.