With the UAE’s National Central Cooling Co (Tabreed) setting up a Bahrain subsidiary, the way is clear for establishing central cooling plants and providing district-cooling services to the kingdom of a quality that Tabreed is well known.

Tabreed Bahrain, whose official name is Bahrain District Cooling Company BSCC, will have an initial capital of up to BD5 million ($13.2 million) with as much as 55 per cent of it coming from Tabreed. The Bahraini partners Esterad Investment Company and the AA Bin Hindi Group will contribute 40 per cent and five per cent respectively.  The capital is to be invested in stages as new plants are established.
In announcing the venture, Tabreed CEO Dany Safi said Bahrain was taking the global issue of energy usage very seriously. “District cooling is the preferred option in leading technologically advanced countries and, with the current major developments and investments which are making Bahrain an international player, it is the logical next step into the future,” Safi commented.
“Tabreed Bahrain is here to invest in and provide this service to the kingdom. Our technology and know-how will have a direct impact on a more proficient utilisation of the kingdom’s resources, by efficient use of power and water.”
A statement issued on the joint venture said: “In collaboration with the Bahrain partners and investment from the joint venture, Tabreed, the worlds’ largest district cooling company, will employ its innovative and cutting edge technology to ensure efficient use of power.
“This will lead to an average 50 per cent reduction in power consumption for building air conditioning systems when compared to the conventional method in addition to a typical saving of 15 per cent on capital investment for new buildings. An installation capacity of 20,000 tonnes is expected in the first phase of the facility, which will help contribute to the energy conservation efforts being undertaken by the kingdom.”
Tabreed announced net profits of Dh23.37 million ($6.4 million) in 2003, a rise of 187 per cent over the previous year.
According to Subhi F Benkhadra, CEO of Esterad, Bahrain was actually the first country in the GCC to have a district cooling system, more than six decades ago at Awali in the 1940s.
“The re-introduction of the concept of delivering efficient cooling is going to be a win-win situation for Tabreed Bahrain, its customers and the government and people of Bahrain, and Esterad is proud to be involved in this project as part of its direct investment portfolio.  Typically these projects are capital intensive and require long gestation periods with no current income in the initial years,” said Benkhadra.
Khalid Bin Hindi, projects director of the AA Bin Hindi Group, said: “It is the right time for Tabreed to enter Bahrain as a utility company specialised in district cooling to help in reducing the power consumption of end users, which will have a substantial impact on the main electricity demand, and to co-operate with the kingdom’s policy of encouraging local and international companies to invest in Bahrain.”
Tabreed Bahrain aims to provide both existing and new building complexes with efficient and environmentally friendly district cooling services for the public, commercial and industrial sectors in Bahrain. Centralised cooling plants, strategically located across Bahrain, will distribute chilled water to single and multiple clients, via underground pipe networks.
Tabreed has offered district cooling as a utility to the UAE for the past five years, pioneering energy-efficient gas-fired and electric-powered district cooling solutions locally and across the region.
Its ambitious regional expansion plans have gained impetus with Tabreed’s partner Qatar District Cooling Company (Qatar Cool) recently signing landmark agreements with Commercialbank and the Al Fardan Twin Towers. Tabreed is also pursuing joint venture opportunities in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman.
Esterad (formerly known as National Imports and Exports Co) was established in Bahrain in 1973. Over its 30-year history it has developed from a company trading commodities to a fully fledged investment company, managing its capital across a diverse range of assets in the region and internationally. It is active in regional private equity and its investments are divided into four areas: direct equities, quoted equities, fixed income and real estate.
The AA Bin Hindi group, one of the pioneer companies in Bahrain, started in 1965 as an auto spares business in the heart of Manama and grew by leaps and bounds, becoming one of the leading companies in Bahrain in the automotives field.