THE National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed), the Abu Dhabi-based district cooling utility company, has inaugurated its second district cooling plant in Ajman.

The new plant, located close to the Ajman Corniche, has a capacity of 10,000 tons of refrigeration (TR) and will supply chilled water to local customers.

Sujit Parhar, Tabreed’s CEO, says: “The new plant in Ajman will provide energy-efficient, cost-effective and reliable cooling all the year round to the local community. We are proud to open the plant and commence the supply of chilled water to our customers.”

“Over the years, we have demonstrated our ability to remain the partner of choice for the UAE’s leading private and government institutions and I am confident this new plant will play an important role in enabling the economic growth of the emirate,” he adds.

The new plant in Ajman expands Tabreed’s installed capacity in the UAE to 597,325 TR and increases the total number of district cooling plants fully owned and operated by the company (52) and those operated through affiliates to 59.

Meanwhile, the group’s installed capacity across the region has reached 749,125 TR and connected capacity 703,176 TR. This comes as the company announced that its full-year net profit for 2011 increased by 34 per cent. It also delivered a strong operating performance driven by its core chilled water business.

Tabreed started 11 new plants during 2011 adding 45,800 TR capacity, an eight per cent increase from 2010. Eight of the new plants were for the Dubai Metro Green Line, which has increased the company’s total connected capacity in the UAE to 555,181 TR.

Some 78,115 TR new connections were also achieved, which is a 16 per cent increase from the previous year.

“Our full-year performance, in particular our revenue growth and significantly increased profitability, demonstrates the success of our strategy of focusing on the chilled water business, improving operational efficiencies and applying stricter cost discipline across the business. Our strategy will remain constant in the year ahead as we complete our build-out programme and build upon the notable achievements of 2011,” says Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, Tabreed’s chairman.

The new Ajman plant forms part of Tabreed’s scheduled build-out programme.

Founded in June 1998, and listed on the Dubai Financial Market, Tabreed’s cooling infrastructure is an integral part of the region’s growth, providing innovative cooling solutions to residential, commercial and government customers.

Tabreed also has a number of projects in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.