Empower awards $45mn construction contract for Zabeel district cooling plant
Contract is in line with Empower’s plans to provide its services to large and multi-use existing and under-construction projects in the Zabeel area
Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the UAE-based district cooling provider, has awarded a contract worth $45 million for the construction of its new district cooling plant in Zabeel – a vital district in Dubai.
The move follows the completion of shoring and enabling work at the plant site and is in line with Empower’s plan to provide its services to the large and multi-use existing and under-construction projects in the Zabeel area.
The new plant will have a cooling capacity of 50,000 refrigeration tons (RT) and will be interconnected with Empower’s existing district cooling plant at DIFC to deliver a total cooling energy of 112,000RT. Phase 1 of the Zabeel cooling district will be completed by H1 2021, a statement from Empower said.
CEO Ahmad bin Shafar said this was the second contract that Empower had signed within two months for building new district cooling plants.
“We have awarded a set of contracts last month for the construction of our fourth district cooling plant in the Business Bay, Dubai, with a cooling capacity of 50,000 refrigeration tons. We always strive to enhance our operations to cater to the needs of our rapidly increasing customer base in Dubai,” he added.
According to Empower, the design of the new plant will meet the highest international construction and designing standards.
Award-winning technologies will be used in the Zabeel district cooling plant such as Treated Sewage Effluent (TSE) technology that saves fresh water and Thermal Energy Storage (TES) technology that reduces the load on state power grid by optimising the inflow and outflow of chilled water during the peak and off-peak hours.
Upon completion, the new plant will start serving the prestigious and upcoming iconic buildings in the area including Dubai World Trade Centre buildings and One Zabeel Towers, which is wholly owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai, along with other adjacent projects, it added.
Bin Shafar said Empower’s operations are expanding at accelerated pace with focus on vital areas.
“We have created a robust system to construct and operate district cooling plants according to the highest world-class standards,” he noted.
“Our plan is to maximize our district cooling capacity in this area by interconnecting the existing DC plant with the new plant,” he explained.
“This will increase the operational efficiency of our systems that will ensure delivery of uninterrupted and high-quality cooling service to our customers,” he concluded.
