Shares in National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) rose by more than 11 per cent in early trading yesterday on the news that it had concluded a Dh6 billion master services agreement (MSA) with the UAE Armed Forces (UAEAF).
Under the terms of the new agreement, which builds upon the agreement signed between the two parties in 2000, Tabreed will continue to supply the UAEAF’s existing and prospective facilities with district cooling services until 2034.
The UAEAF commissioned its first district cooling plant from Tabreed in 1998.
“It is a source of great pride for us to renew our longstanding partnership with the UAE Armed Forces, a key supporter of Tabreed since the company’s inception 15 years ago,” said Tabreed’s chief executive Jasim Husain Thabet.
“This long-term collaboration is a clear endorsement of the energy, environmental and economic benefits of Tabreed’s district cooling services.”
“We are pleased to extend our agreement with Tabreed, who have been a strategic partner to the UAE Armed Forces for more than a decade,” a spokesman for the UAEAF said yesterday.
“We are excited to continue working with Tabreed to acquire reliable and energy-efficient district cooling services to support our commitment to greater sustainability, enabling us to make significant reductions in our energy consumption and thereby lower our carbon footprint.”
Tabreed’s shares, listed on the Dubai Financial Market, eventually closed up 6.4 per cent at Dh2.15 each yesterday.
In April, Tabreed reported a 22 per cent rise in profits to Dh58.2 million for the first quarter, benefiting from reduced costs and the completion of delayed housing schemes in Abu Dhabi.
The company, part-owned by the Abu Dhabi government investment fund Mubadala, had a total connected capacity of 855,900 refrigerated tonnes at the end of March, with the UAE accounting for more than three-quarters of this figure.
Last week Tabreed announced that its Qatari affiliate Qatar Cool had signed a contract for the construction of its fourth district cooling plant in the Gulf state, to provide cooling services to the West Bay district of the capital Doha.
jeverington@thenational.ae
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