Tabreed's (National Cooling Company) remarkable profit climb, greater business thrust and expansion beyond the UAE is making it an attractive proposition for investors within the country and abroad.

Tabreed, which reported a 2002 net profit of Dh8.12 million ($2.2 million), compared with Dh2.7 million for 2001, had announced earlier this year it would allow foreign ownership of up to 40 per cent. The company has set up joint ventures - Tabreed Saudi Arabia and Tabreed Qatar - and expects to move to Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman before long.

The company increased its reach within the UAE with the completion of phase one of two district cooling schemes servicing area 029, AI Muroor, and area 030, Zayed Sports City, in Abu Dhabi.

Phase one with sales of over 18,000 refrigerating tonnes supplies residential, commercial and governmental buildings across the two 6-km areas. Additional customers in these locations can be supplied, ultimately increasing the two facilities' combined contracted capacity to more than 44,000 refrigerating tonnes.

"The completion of phase one of the AI Muroor and Zayed Sports City developments is an important step for Tabreed," said managing director Dany Safi. "With the completion of each new district cooling facility, we can see the increasing awareness and support that environmentally friendly and economically efficient technologies are gaining across the UAE.

The new Abu Dhabi developments join the ranks of the growing number of Tabreed schemes that are cooling the UAE, including Al Ain Municipality scheme, 10 schemes (six operating, four under design) at UAE Military bases, Al Nakhil scheme in Ras Al Khaimah, Shaikh Zayed Road in Dubai and the under-construction Fujairah Water and Power Plant. Several new schemes are planned in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and Al Ain as well as several GCC countries.

"The year 2002 witnessed a very positive performance from Tabreed which continues to grow at an exceptionally fast pace with a revenue growth of 190 per cent and a chilled water tonnage increase of 410 per cent," said Safi. Total assets swelled to Dh1.13 billion from Dh602.64 million, and total revenue booked rose to Dh85.38 million from Dh 44.57 million, the company said in a statement.

Safi credited the growth to contributions from new district cooling schemes in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

"With the second instalment of the company's share capital now being completed, Tabreed is embarking upon a major expansion strategy geared to meeting the increasing demands on the district cooling services on one hand and extending its expansion strategies through the creation of regional joint ventures on the other."

It recently secured a $120-million Islamic facility from two UAE banks - National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB). The borrowing will be used to finance the construction of a central cooling plant at Al Dhafra Air Base. The cooling plant will have a capacity of 18,000 tonnes under phase one of the project.

South Korea's Samsung is carrying out the engineering, procurement and construction work on the cooling plant.

Safi said Tabreed would look for investments from companies such as Emirates Preinsulated Pipes Industry and Gulf Energy System, whose expertise have complemented Tabreed's core business activities.

Tabreed has offered district cooling as a utility in the UAE since 1998, pioneering energy efficient gas-fired and electric-powered district cooling solutions in the UAE and across the region. The premier district cooling service provider in the Middle East region, Tabreed promises customers the highest quality service through an integrated energy system devised to help them optimise their energy usage and reduce power and maintenance costs.

District cooling is gaining backers because it does not entail emissions of CFC and other types of chlorinated refrigerants that cause a depletion of the ozone layer. District cooling promises an alternative, energy-efficient and environmentally sound method of cooling buildings. Chilled water is produced at a central plant and then piped underground to individual buildings within a designated area. The process is easy to operate and maintain, reliable, comfortable and convenient and has lower life-cycle costs.

"District cooling is the ideal solution to cooling requirements for landlords and tenants alike," continued Safi. "The economic rewards for owners are substantial due to the lack of maintenance costs, and tenants' quality of life is greatly improved as district cooling provides superior temperature control whilst significantly reducing the amount of harmful gases and noise pollution generated by traditional air conditioning units."

Tabreed is a member of the International District Energy Association (IDEA), Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE), American Gas Cooling Centre, Inc. (AGCC) and the Dubai Quality Group.

Tabreed's efforts to provide quality to its customers were rewarded with the award of three ISO certifications for the production and supply of chilled water for district cooling services in the region.

Issued by KPMG and valid until December 2005, the certifications include ISO 9001-2000 for quality management systems, ISO 14001-1996 for environmental management systems and Ohsas 18001-1999 for occupational health and safety management systems.

"This achievement reinforces Tabreed's exemplary record for customer service, workplace safety and environmental responsibility," said Mohamed Saif Al Mazrouei, chairman of Tabreed, who was present at a presentation ceremony with board members Obaid Al Mutaiwie and Khalifa Al Qubaisy. "We constantly strive to provide the highest quality products and services to our customers, so it is truly gratifying to receive three ISO certifications at once," said the chairman.

Tabreed sees the ISO certification - the world's most recognised standards for generic management systems - of their plant rooms and offices as a foundation step towards long-lasting customer satisfaction and excellence across all areas of the business.

"Thanks to the dedication and hard work of the team at Tabreed, our management systems and models now allow us to quickly identify customer needs and build processes to meet them, manage our impact on the fragile environment of this region and foster a safe and productive workplace for our employees," commented Al Mazrouei.

The team of KPMG consultants performed an extensive verification process of compliance for the standards and found high levels of compliance and commitment throughout the Tabreed infrastructure. As a service provider, this means recognisable benefits to Tabreed's customers, employees and the environment of the UAE for the future.

Suresh Shah, executive director and Partner of KPMG, said: "Working in partnership with a world-class organisation such as Tabreed to improve quality standards across the region has been singularly rewarding."