Citi Cool to invest Dh6b in projects

Dubai: Citi Cool, a UAE-based district cooling and water treatment company, will invest about Dh6 billion on in-hand projects around the Gulf region in the next three to five years, a top official of the company told Gulf News.

A subsidiary of Al Rajhi Investment Group, the company is working towards a total of 600,000 refrigerating tonnes capacity for all its projects, according to Fouad Younan, chief executive officer of Citi Cool.

The projects to which the company will be providing district cooling and water treatment include the recently announced five projects in Bahrain with developer Crown Dilmun, a labour village in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Investment Centre and Bay La Sun project in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia, with developer Emaar The Economic City.

Piping

Discussing the Sharjah project, Younan said that the piping network has already started and four plant rooms are being designed.

The system is set to be operational by end of 2009 or early 2010.

"The procurement of all these projects shows the confidence the market has shown us, because of the parent company and the people who are working in our company," Younan said.

Officials said that they are looking into working in Jordan in coming years.

"We are doing some work in Jordan and will establish office there soon," Younan said, adding that the company is exploring the market in Libya too look for potential for district cooling.

Younan said that he expects Saudi Arabia to be the largest market in the Middle East and North Africa region for district cooling in the coming years.

"It is not the largest now, but I expect it to total one million tones in coming years," Younan said, while adding that there is a great demand for projects in the country.

For the company, a growth rate of 100 per cent is expected within a year, according to Younan.

He also emphasised the issue of power availability, which is holding back their growth.

"There is no limit on growth when you have the finances and the technical capability, but our growth is very limited due to power availability," he said, adding that they play a big part in saving power by using thermal plants and water storage.

Huge investments

District cooling required "huge" investments. "For 115,000 tones of cooling, an investment of over Dh1 billion is needed. If anyone wants to invest that much, power availability needs to be assured," Younan said.

The government has promised partial power by the end of 2009 for the company's Sharjah project, according to officials. Due to power related issues, "everything is put on hold", Younan said.

For the district cooling operation, the company treats sewage or sea water for the make-up water and then recycles the blow down water from the cooling process to make it usable for irrigation.

"We take the headache away from developers, which can be a big issue especially in Saudi Arabia where water is very scarce," Younan said.

We take the headache away from developers, which can be a big issue especially in Saudi Arabia where water is very scarce."