Tabreed - the National Cooling Co (PJSC) recently announced that phase one of the two district cooling schemes servicing area 029 (Al Muroor), and area 030 (Zayed Sports City) in Abu Dhabi, had become operational.

Phase one, with sales of more than 18,000 refrigerating tonnes supplies residential, commercial and governmental buildings across the two six km areas. Further customers in these locations can be supplied, ultimately increasing the two facilities' combined contracted capacity to more than 44,000 refrigerating tonnes.

"The completion of phase one of the Al Muroor and Zayed Sports City developments is an important step for Tabreed," says Dany Safi, managing director of Tabreed. "With the completion of each new district cooling facility, we can see the increasing awareness and support that environmentally-friendly and economically-efficient technologies are gaining across the UAE.

"District cooling is the ideal solution to cooling requirements for landlords and tenants alike," continues Safi. "The economic rewards for owners are substantial due to the lack of maintenance costs, and tenants' quality of life is greatly improved as district cooling provides superior temperature control whilst significantly reducing the amount of harmful gases and noise pollution generated by traditional air conditioning units."

The new Abu Dhabi developments join the ranks of the growing number of Tabreed schemes that are cooling the UAE, including the Al Ain Municipality scheme, 10 (six operating, four under design) schemes cooling UAE military bases, Al Nakhil scheme in Ras Al Khaimah, Shaikh Zayed Road in Dubai and the under-construction Fujairah Water and Power Plant. Several new schemes are planned in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and Al Ain as well as several other GCC countries.

Tabreed has offered district cooling as a utility in the UAE since 1998, pioneering energy-efficient gas-fired and electric-powered district cooling solutions in the UAE and across the region.

Tabreed is a member of the International District Energy Association (IDEA), Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE), American Gas Cooling Centre, Inc. (AGCC) and the Dubai Quality Group.

Tabreed has just received three ISO certifications for the production and supply of chilled water for district cooling services in the region. Issued by KPMG and valid until December 2005, the certifications include ISO 9001-2000 for quality management systems, ISO 14001-1996 for environmental management systems and OHSAS 18001-1999 for occupational health and safety management systems.

Tabreed sees the ISO certification of its plant rooms and offices as a foundation step towards long-lasting customer satisfaction and excellence across all areas of the business.