Cold room project case study in Indonesia: Island landing-site cold store and ice plant, Eastern Indonesia
Fish quality was lost between landing and the mainland. A modest, robust cold store with ice production was built at the landing site rather than a large plant far away.
A 500-pallet −18 to −25 °c frozen facility in Indonesia of roughly 2,400 m³, built with packaged / condensing units (hfc-hfo), models at about USD 2,248,399 installed (USD 1,798,719–USD 2,922,919 planning range) and USD 353,292 a year to run, over a 70-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
Hot and humid — higher defrost energy and infiltration load
~900 generator hours modelled per year
Local band 0.070–0.120 USD/kWh
Zones
- Frozen store −20 °C, 500 pallets
- Chilled holding room 0 to +2 °C
- Flake ice plant with insulated ice store
What a project like this costs in Indonesia
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 1,798,719–USD 2,922,919
USD 937 per m³
43% of it is energy
158 kW average refrigeration load
| Envelope, plant, electrical and installation | USD 2,015,898 |
| Standby generation | USD 221,749 |
| Monitoring and alarms | USD 10,752 |
| Total installed | USD 2,248,399 |
| Grid electricity (1,381,249 kWh) | USD 124,312 |
| Standby diesel (33,774 litres) | USD 28,708 |
| Maintenance and spares | USD 82,741 |
| Operations labour (7 staff) | USD 112,700 |
| Monitoring and compliance | USD 4,830 |
| Total per year | USD 353,292 |
Running the same facility on legacy fixed-speed plant models at USD 391,547 a year — about USD 38,255 more, which is the efficiency decision this project turned on.
What made this project difficult in Indonesia
These are the local realities that change the design, the price and the supplier shortlist.
- Weak local grid and expensive logistics for spare parts
- Coastal corrosion and limited technician availability
- Shipping equipment to the island adds cost and lead time
The decisions that shaped the result
- Packaged, standardised units so any competent technician can service them
- Full-load generator with fuel storage as the primary design case
- Commissioning package including local operator training
Programme: about 70 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 34–55 · 22 weeksPlant and panel manufacture plus extended shipping, customs clearance and inland transport — the schedule risk to watch in this market.
- 6
Installation and insulation
Weeks 56–65 · 10 weeksPanel erection, refrigeration pipework, electrical installation and controls.
- 7
Commissioning, pull-down and handover
Weeks 66–70 · 5 weeksLeak and pressure testing, staged pull-down, performance verification against the specified duty, operator training, spares handover and documentation.
What the project delivered
- First-mile chilling and freezing available at the landing site
- Ice availability removed the main quality-loss point
- Local operators trained to run and basic-service the plant
What buyers in this market should take from it
- On remote sites, choose equipment you can repair, not equipment with the best datasheet
- Budget freight and installation logistics as a separate CAPEX line
Tools and market data for Indonesia
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 Indonesia
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 Indonesia?
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.