Alfardan Towers has joined the list of prestigious building projects that have signed up for Qatar Cool’s innovative new district cooling scheme in Doha’s West Bay area.

“The concept of district cooling is simple,” said Qatar Cool general manager Colin Goulding.  “Chilled water is supplied from a central location to a number of buildings via a network of pipes, removing the need to have chillers in each building and thus greatly reducing costs to building owners. In addition, the system is environmentally friendly and virtually maintenance-free,” he added.
“We are very pleased to be able to benefit from the many advantages of district cooling,” said Omar H Alfardan, president of Alfardan Real Estate.  “Over and above the reduction in capital cost and running expenses, the savings in space within the building mean that areas that used to be taken up with chillers and ducting can now be used to generate further income”.
Qatar Cool said that not only was district cooling cost efficient, the associated environmental advantages were significant.  A saving of 50 per cent in energy meant considerable reductions in power generation and the production of Co2, the major cause of global warming. 
“District cooling uses environmentally friendly refrigerants in a contained and controlled environment which, combined with rigorous health and safety standards, means less potential damage to the ozone layer.  In addition, by removing the need for chiller plants in each building, there is less noise and pollution and more space for greenery,” the company said.
Qatar Cool’s District Cooling Scheme in West Bay will be the result of a QR300 million ($82.40 million) investment programme over the next few years. 
It will be able to supply more than 42,000 refrigerating tonnes of cooling, enough to meet the cooling requirements of 50 typical office buildings.  Further schemes are planned for the future and it is estimated that over QR1 billion will be invested in developing district cooling schemes for Qatar over the next five years.
Qatar District Cooling Company, known as Qatar Cool, is a private sector joint venture company owned 50.5 per cent by United Development Company (UDC), 44.5 per cent by the Dubai-registered National District Cooling Company (Tabreed) and five per cent by private Qatari investors.