The UAE's National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) has busy months ahead with several projects having come up for implementation from the government and private sectors.
"Due to huge demand, Tabreed is expanding many schemes and building many new ones," said a company spokesman.
"Our newest scheme is on Shaikh Zayed Road and serves the Shaikh Zayed Road towers and hotel complexes."
The company is completing two other schemes in Abu Dhabi for Muroor Streeet and Zayed Sports City Area to serve a wide range of buildings.
Numerous military bases are also being converted to district cooling in a five-year programme, the spokesman said, adding that future schemes were planned for Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Al Ain.
Since its establishment as a public joint stock company in June 1998, Tabreed has been developing numerous district-cooling schemes throughout the UAE. Each is designed to meet the chilled water requirements of its customers.
Tabreed's customers include Al Ain Municipality, Al Manar Mall, Al Jimi Mall, a vegetable and fish market, a hospital and hotels, besides the UAE armed forces.
The company's share capital of Dh 500 million ($136 million) was subscribed 45 per cent by founder shareholders, which include 247 institutional and private investors, and the remainder was offered to UAE nationals through an initial public offering (IPO) in the form of shares priced at Dh10 each. Shareholders had to pay Dh5 at the time of the company's establishment while the remaining Dh5 was to be paid at a later stage.
The company is set to play a pivotal role in saving energy, reducing capital and start-up costs of new real estate developments, and cutting air-conditioning bills of existing properties.
Tabreed's new plants in Dubai, on Shaikh Zayed Road and on the Sharjah Buhaira will meet the air-conditioning needs of prime properties in the two areas.
This follows the award in mid-1999 of a Dh147 million contract by Tabreed to Canada's SNC Lavalin for adding new district cooling capacity at the Zayed Military City in Sweihan, Abu Dhabi. Several new projects are in the pipeline. Tabreed is in advanced negotiations with three major project developers in Dubai, while the plant on the Shaikh Zayed Road, which will have an initial capacity of between 10,000 - 15,000 tonnes per day (tpd), will be expanded to up to 50,000 tpd to meet the air-conditioning needs of new developments. Tabreed is seeking opportunities in other GCC countries and over the next five years, it has the potential to become one of the largest district cooling providers in the world.
