Emirates Central Cooling Corporation (Empower) has invited district cooling companies in the region to benefit from its experience and boost the growth of the industry that is growing between 15 and 20 per cent annually.

Chief executive officer Ahmad bin Shafar said the industry is faced with obstacles like absence of long-term planning.

'District cooling is still in its infancy in the region, but the potential is great as government support is huge and new real estate projects launched over the past five years demand this technology,' he said.

'The technology is environmental-friendly and is in line with government approach to energy conservation.'

He said that other challenges include lack of high calibre technical and marketing personnel, which has led to financial issues.-TradeArabia News Service