District cooling firm Tabreed, which is partly owned by Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala, has announced an additional investment into its Saudi unit, Saudi Tabreed, to develop a Dh549 million ($149.4 million) district cooling project that will serve the Jabal Omar development in the Makkah.

The approved investment relates to the development and construction of the first two phases of the district cooling plant, said a statement from Tabreed.

Saudi Tabreed, which is 25 per cent owned by Tabreed, is partnering with the Saudi-based Jabal Omar Development Company (JODC) to develop the 55,000 RT project.

The 20 year build-own-operate-transfer agreement will be completed by a special purpose vehicle named Central District Cooling Company (CDCC), which is 60 per cent owned by Saudi Tabreed and 40 per cent by JODC.  

Commenting on the Saudi investment, chairman Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi said: “We are delighted to be investing alongside our partners at Saudi Tabreed in such a landmark development in the Kingdom. This project marks a major step forward for Tabreed in Saudi as it underscores the significance we attribute to this market given the growth opportunities present here as a result of the nation’s commitment to utilizing energy efficient solutions to meet its increasing cooling demands.”

The first two phases of the district cooling project in the Jabal Omar development are expected to be completed in 18 months, and currently has a contracted capacity of 35,900 RT, he stated.

CEO Jasim Thabet said the Jabal Omar project is one of the key infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia and intended to cater to Makkah’s expanding population.

“As cities in the GCC continue to grow, district cooling’s energy and cost efficiencies have proven to be the ideal solution for densely populated areas that have a high demand for year-round air conditioning,” he noted.

In addition to the Jabal Omar development, Saudi Tabreed is also currently involved in two other major projects in Saudi Arabia.

According to Thabet, the company is in the final stages of completing the construction of a district cooling plant for Aramco that has a design capacity of 32,000 RT on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer contract for 23 years.

Presently, the company is completing the second phase of a district cooling plant in the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD). Upon completion in 2013, the KAFD plants will have a total capacity of 100,000 RT, he added.-TradeArabia News Service