The National Central Cooling Company, better known as Tabreed, is bullish about growth in India and is looking at acquisitions and greenfield projects to expand in Asia’s third largest economy.
Last year, Tabreed formed a new holding company with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to invest up to $400 million in the next five years to expand in India.
As part of the agreement, Tabreed India, currently a wholly owned unit of Tabreed, will be transferred to a new holding company established in Singapore, in which Tabreed will hold a 75 per cent stake and IFC 25 per cent.
The partners are targeting a portfolio of more than 100,000 refrigeration tonnes of cooling capacity by 2026 as they aim to serve industrial, commercial and retail developments in the country.
India, the world's second most populous country, is “a huge market that potential is beyond what we expected in initial stages”, Khalid Al Marzooqi, chief executive of Tabreed, told The National in an interview.
“India is setting up itself to be a major hub in the IT business as well as pharmaceuticals ... and that's one of the cooling intensive industries that require a lot of district cooling. Another market which is coming up is the food storage.”
"There's a large wastage in agricultural product sales due to the fact that the storages are not in convenient places or not centred in a way in hubs that can be easily exported."
The company is looking for new opportunities in Hyderabad, a major IT hub in southern India, as well as in Chennai.
“We have a couple of projects in the pipeline ... in evaluation stage right now,” Mr Al Marzooqi said, without disclosing further details.
The deals will be financed through a mix of debt and self-funding but “depends on the nature of each deal”.
District cooling firms deliver chilled water through insulated pipes to cool offices as well as industrial and residential buildings.
The world’s second-most populous country and one of the top polluters, India has set a target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2070, which is expected to support technologies including district cooling that help in lowering power consumption and reduces emissions to protect the environment.
District cooling on average uses half the power consumed by conventional cooling methods.
Tabreed currently owns and operates 86 plants across the GCC — 75 in the UAE, three in Saudi Arabia, seven in Oman and one in Bahrain — in addition to other international projects.
The company has been rapidly expanding its operations across the region to boost its portfolio. It announced a number of new deals in the past two years in the UAE and across the Gulf region.
In 2020, Tabreed bought a majority stake in Emaar Properties' Downtown Dubai district cooling business for Dh2.48 billion ($675m). The deal, financed through a corporate loan, helped the company snap up an 80 per cent stake, with Emaar retaining the balance under a long-term partnership deal.
It also bought two district cooling units on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi from Aldar Properties in a Dh963m deal to boost its portfolio in the UAE.
Last year, Tabreed signed an agreement with master developer Miral to provide district cooling services at SeaWorld Abu Dhabi marine life theme park on Yas Island.
The company's other deals include the acquisition of a new district cooling plant in Oman from Al Mouj Muscat, a joint venture between the country's government and UAE property developer Majid Al Futtaim to double its capacity in the sultanate.
Tabreed also took full ownership of the operator of the district cooling unit that serves Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi after it bought an additional 50 per cent stake for Dh311.5m last year.
The company, which reported a 3 per cent increase in its first-quarter profit, will continue to expand in the UAE, its main market as well as across the Gulf region and Egypt, Mr Al Marzooqi said.
In Egypt, Tabreed is currently partnering with the Egyptian Company for Energy and Cooling projects and Marakez for Real Estate Investment Company, to provide district cooling services to the new district five mall (D5M) in east Cairo as it expands into the Arab world's most populous country.
“Egypt is a large market that actually has potential as large as India or even beyond. We are in the construction phase of one of the district cooling for the mall in district five in Egypt. And we are very close to even closing some future deals," he said, adding the company might commission its first plant in the country “by last quarter of this year or maybe before”.
Tabreed also plans to enter new markets in North Africa and Kuwait, Mr Al Marzooqi said.
Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
More on animal trafficking
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')
Chelsea 0
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
