ENGIE announces Tabreed acquisition of Dubai district cooling scheme

Industry News
07 April 2020

District cooling developer Tabreed, whose largest shareholders include ENGIE, has announced the acquisition of an 80% stake in Downtown Dubai’s district cooling business.

Leading UAE-based international district cooling developer Tabreed, whose largest shareholders include ENGIE, has announced the acquisition of an 80% stake in Emaar Properties PJSC’s (DFM: Emaar) Downtown Dubai district cooling business at a cost of AED 2.48 billion (USD 675m). Emaar, one of the world’s largest real estate companies and a global property developer, will retain a 20% stake as part of the long-term partnership with Tabreed.

The long-term concession will exclusively provide up to 235,000 RT (refrigeration tonnes) of cooling to Dubai’s most prestigious developments with the largest integrated energy-efficient cooling scheme in the world.

Environmental highlights – (12 months ended 31 December 2019):

Contributed to saving 2.06 billion kilowatt/hours across the GCC – enough energy to power 117,500 homes in the UAE every year.
These power savings prevented the release into the atmosphere of 1.23 million metric tons of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of eliminating the emissions from 268,000 vehicles annually.
New operations will be eliminating an additional 180,000 metric tons of CO₂.

The district cooling scheme currently provides 150,000 RT of contracted capacity through a network that distributes chilled water produced in 3 already built interconnected district cooling plants; shortly followed by a 4th state-of-the-art plant that is currently under construction. Following the completion of the transaction, Tabreed’s presence in Dubai has increased to 278,801 RT and its total capacity has increased by 12.6% to 1,338,602 RT from 83 plants. The transaction represents a major milestone in Tabreed’s history, demonstrating the Company’s ability to deliver on its growth potential and reinforcing its position as the global district cooling industry leader and the cooling provider of choice for landmark developments in the region and beyond.

Compared to other cooling systems, district cooling uses only 50% of primary energy consumption for cooling urban buildings thereby reducing CO₂ emissions. This highly efficient and cost-effective form of air conditioning also has associated benefits of improvement in air quality and reduction in general noise levels when compared to other traditional air conditioning systems.

Khaled Abdulla Al Qubaisi, Chairman of Tabreed, said: “This is a historic achievement for Tabreed and a truly transformational transaction for the company, accelerating our growth trajectory and consolidating our position in Dubai. Tabreed is an international powerhouse in district cooling, with over 22 years of experience, operational excellence across 83 plants and investments in six countries. This acquisition, in the world’s largest district cooling market, is a further testament to our financial strength and leading market position. We are well placed to take advantage of growth opportunities and expect our enhanced presence within the Dubai market to further enable us to reach our long-term objectives.”

“We are proud to be a partner of choice for Emaar and to serve their iconic developments in Downtown Dubai. We are delighted with the agreement which paves the way for a long-term relationship with one of the world’s largest and most reputed real estate developers.” Al Qubaisi concluded.

Commenting on the acquisition, Chairman of Emaar Properties Mohamed Alabbar added: “This is a key transaction for both Emaar and Tabreed. Emaar values the strategic partnerships we establish, making a concerted effort to nurture and deepen these alliances. Tabreed is one such example where we can identify with many synergies between the companies, and we’re pleased to see our prosperous journey reach new heights. Downtown Dubai is a hallmark of pride for Emaar and we trust Tabreed feels the same way, serving and treating its constituents as their own.”