Bin Shafar ... moving forward.
Empower expands its niche portfolio, network
01 April 2022
More than 1,400 buildings in Dubai are using Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation’s (Empower) district cooling service, according to the UAE-based company, which ranks among the world’s largest district cooling services providers.
The company reports that it holds 79.5 per cent share of the district cooling market in the emirate.
Providing details of its performance last year, the company says the number of buildings using its services increased to 1,413 by the end of 2021, a growth of 13 per cent compared to 2020. Last year, Empower connected its district cooling services to some of Dubai’s most iconic projects, most notably Marsa Al Arab, One Za’abeel, The Residences Dorchester Collection, Uptown and Wasl1, among other buildings.
Early this year, Empower closed a deal with the developer Select Group to supply 10,915 refrigeration tonnes (RT) of district cooling energy to The Peninsula, the largest mixed-use real estate development in Business Bay, Dubai. Empower will start providing its environmentally-friendly district cooling services in phases by later this year, in line with the completion stages of the mega project.
Empower’s CEO Ahmad bin Shafar reveals that the company’s portfolio is diversified and included major sectors in Dubai. The residential sector topped the list of its clients with 64 per cent share, followed by the commercial sector with 15 per cent and the hospitality sector with 14 per cent (more than 17 per cent of the hotels in Dubai are served by Empower’s environment-friendly district cooling services). The health sector represented three per cent while the remaining four per cent is distributed among retail, education, entertainment sectors and others.
Bin Shafar also points out that the continuous growth in its projects portfolio, the diversity of buildings, and its expertise in the field enable the company to help developers and real estate owners to determine the required cooling load for their projects.
The company continues to expand its network with its latest district cooling plant now being built to serve the Dubai Land Residence Complex (DLRC).
The DLRC is a unique freehold project targeted at meeting the needs of families through innovative and well executed housing units and is being developed by Dubai Holding. This project also includes mosques, schools and healthcare facilities.
Under a contract worth AED193 million ($52.55 million), work is in progress on the new plant which will have a capacity of 23,500 RT on completion of the first phase, which is scheduled to be operational by the first quarter of 2023. The total production capacity of the plant will reach 47,000 RT upon completion of all construction phases of the project.
“As part of its commitment to modernise and develop its facilities and technical staff, Empower is moving forward on a well-thought-out methodology to grow the company’s infrastructure in order to raise its performance to unprecedented levels and make timely investments to expand its operations in Dubai.
“Empower is keen to continue providing high-quality, environment-friendly and sustainable district cooling services to support the Dubai’s leading role in reducing carbon emissions,” he concludes.
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