Refrigeration Infrastructure in Mindelo

  • Infraestructuras frigoríficas de Mindelo
Project Status: 
Cape Verde
Completion Date: 

This refrigeration project is in the city of Mindelo, on the island of São Vicente. It is the second most populous city in the country and is considered as the cultural capital of the country. Its economy is mainly based around fishing and the sea in general. This project aims to meet the needs/ambitions of creating employment (a big issue on the island) and turning the São Vicente region into an economic hub in relation to fishing, as Cape Verde is strategically located just 800 km off the coast of Africa, while also being just over 4 hours flight from Europe (Portugal) and South America (Brazil). The country is essentially in between three continents, so it is an attractive destination for tuna vessels from Europe and other countries. The idea was for the fishing vessels in the region to catch their tuna and other fish, unload their catches into our refrigeration units, where the fish would then be processed and then return to Europe with the fish already processed, instead of returning with entire fishes. This helps to optimise trips, as the waste from the fish is reduced by up to 30%, meaning that there is 30% more space to be used on the vessel. Furthermore, labour is obviously a lot cheaper there than here.


Site area:               11,022 m2
Construction area:                   6,970 m2

Distributed across 4 buildings:

  1. Chillers for frozen tuna
  2. Chillers for perishable products (not fish), both fresh and frozen
  3. Fresh and frozen fish processors, blast freezers, ice makers, chillers for fresh and frozen fish
  4. Offices, changing rooms, laboratories, etc.

Total capacities of chillers:

2,159 m2
15.716 m3 volume
3.608.000 kg of fish

Processing lines:

Fresh fish: 30 tonnes per day
Frozen fish: 30 tonnes per day

Blast freezers:

1 blast freezer for entire hung tunas weighing between 60 and 80 kg, with a capacity to freeze 8,000 kg in 8 hours (from +15° to -18° core temperature).
3 blast freezers for filleted fish in trolleys, with an individual capacity of 3.36 tonnes per 6-hour cycle (from +15° to -20°.)

Ice maker:

25 tonnes of flake ice every 24 hours with 2 ice machines. .
Storage capacity for 50 tonnes in silo with automatic scraper
Ice supply for the facility and vessels via transporter belt.

The facility also has a spillage treatment plant, laboratory and various other equipment.