Dubai: Dubai-based Emirates District Cooling (Emicool), a joint venture between Dubai Investments and Union Properties, signed a Dh793 million ($216 million) Islamic loan guaranteed by both the parent companies, a recent statement said.
Structured in a sharia-compliant manner, the facility runs for 10 years, according to the statement from Mashreq, one of the banks providing finance.
The cash will be used to refinance a Dh668 million bridge loan and other facilities raised with banks on an individual basis, which funded construction of cooling plants in the Motor City and Dubai Investment Park areas of the emirate.
The facility will “help realise our long-term expansion goals such as investing in infrastructure”, Abdul Aziz Bin Yagub Al Serkal, chairman of Emicool, said in the statement.
The seven banks which participated in the original bridge loan signed up to the new transaction, the Mashreq statement said, although it didn’t name the other banks.
Dubai’s district cooling companies provide air conditioning using a central production point to feed chilled air into areas and buildings, as opposed to using separate conditioning units in individual rooms, which would be much more expensive.
