Warehouse and cold store MEP in International City 

Warehouse and cold store MEP in International City: local context

International City is a large low- and mid-rise community off the Al Ain Road and Emirates Road, organised into country-themed clusters of apartment buildings with ground-floor shops, alongside trading and warehouse areas such as Dragon Mart. Built from the mid-2000s, it offers some of Dubai's most affordable housing and is densely occupied. Maintenance and refurbishment are a big part of the MEP workload here.

• Approvals may run through Dubai Municipality or Trakhees depending on the cluster, with Civil Defence review for fire systems in retail and warehouse areas.
• Trading and warehouse buildings need fire hydrant, sprinkler and alarm systems suited to mixed storage and high occupancy during peak shopping hours.
• The open inland setting brings dust and heat, so outdoor equipment needs regular coil cleaning and adequate shading.

Building types we serve in International City

For warehouses and logistics buildings, the work concentrates on high-bay sprinklers or in-rack protection, smoke venting, dock and office HVAC, and LV for racking, lighting and material handling.

Scope of work

• Assessment of storage type, racking height, commodity class and temperature requirements to define the fire protection and cooling strategy with the consultant.
• Cold room and chiller room provisions coordinated with refrigeration specialists, including power supplies, evaporator drainage, panel penetrations and door heater circuits.
• High-bay LED lighting with aisle-by-aisle zoning and occupancy controls set so forklift routes stay safely lit while empty aisles dim.
• Rainwater drainage from large roofs with gutters and downpipes sized for short intense storms, plus foul drainage connected to municipal or approved systems.

Systems we install

• Fire pump sets with electric duty and diesel standby pumps.
• LV distribution boards with dedicated forklift charging circuits.

UAE site and climate challenges

• Warehouse roofs in UAE summer radiate heat into storage zones, pushing temperatures high enough to damage some goods. Roof insulation coordination, extract fans and targeted cooling of sensitive zones control temperatures more efficiently than cooling the full volume.
• Cold stores in humid climates suffer ice build-up and condensation at panel joints and door frames. Heated door frames, vapour-tight sealing and controlled anterooms reduce moisture problems.
• Central versus distributed cooling in multi-tenant warehouses: distributed packaged units suit separate tenants and direct billing, while central plant suits single-operator logistics buildings.

Relevant Manolia projects

Frequently asked questions