Mitsubishi Corporation Urban Development, Inc. (MCUD; Location: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Kenji Morita) announced on August 23, 2023 that it has acquired land for the development of a refrigerated warehouse with an automated storage/retrieval system at Higashi-Ogishima, Kawasaki-ku in the city of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture. The company foresees the start of construction in November 2024 and completion in the summer of 2026.
While the company has developed logistics facilities under the MCUD LOGISTICS Series name since 2013, the new initiative marks the first to develop a refrigerated warehouse with an automated storage/retrieval system. It represents a collaboration between MCUD and Kasumigaseki Capital Co., Ltd. (Location: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Koshiro Komoto).

The proliferation of online supermarkets, changes in consumer trends such as increasing numbers of co-working and elderly households, ESG demands for the extension of food expiration dates, and advances in refrigeration technology are raising the market share of ready-to-eat foods, in turn increasing demand for frozen and refrigerated foods. However, the maintenance of cold chains is a significant societal issue, encompassing difficulties including restricted supply of new frozen and refrigerated warehouses, the aging of existing warehouses, and the securing of workforces under the harsh environment of sub-zero temperatures.

To contribute to the resolution of societal issues and to meet expected increases in demand for the rebuilding of aging frozen and refrigerated warehouses, MCUD will make the most of its long-held logistics warehouse development know-how and the network of the Mitsubishi Corporation Group to begin development of a refrigerated warehouse with an automated storage/retrieval system featuring automated racks (pallets) throughout.

Located midway between central Tokyo and central Yokohama, the site is able to broadly cover both cities' major consumption regions while offering excellent transportation convenience. In addition to two major ports (Port of Tokyo and Port of Yokohama), the site offers easy access to Haneda Airport, enabling the use of the Tokyo metropolitan region's primary logistics infrastructure.