District cooling for Bahrain project agreed

Downtown Al Areen, where BU2 will be providing district cooling infrastructure.

Al Areen Holding Company has signed an agreement with BU2 to provide district cooling infrastructure for the Al Areen Development project in Bahrain.

The contract calls for BU2 to provide 24,000 tons of refrigeration to cool Al Areen through state-of-the-art district cooling plants, with 6,000 tons of cold water storage. The district cooling plants will consist of ten centrifugal chillers, widely recognised as the most energy-efficient means of providing cooling for large-scale developments.

The scope of services includes supplying cooling to over half of the Al Areen Development project by providing chilled water via a 9 km piping network. The project is scheduled for completion early next year. District cooling puts the environment first as it will help the occupants to reduce electricity consumption by up to 50%, consequently reducing carbon dioxide emissions by thousands of tons.

In addition to this, and to avoid the use of drinking water, the cooling towers will be operated utilising the treated sewerage water produced on the development. In addition, the plant will recycle nearly two thirds of this water to be used for irrigation.

“We are committed to providing the residents of Al Areen with the benefits of environment-friendly technologies, and hence we opted for district cooling,” said Al Areen Holding Company MD Stephen Rothel. “Following a competitive selection process, BU2 was our natural choice, as it offered the best combination of quality and cost, and could demonstrate exemplary work as a district cooling service provider for other mega-projects in the region.

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“We are committed to work with ‘best in breed’ partners at every level of the development, all of whom offer the highest level of experience and expertise, which is crucial to the development process,” concluded Rothel.

Phase one of the Al Areen development, completed in 2007, with the recently opened Banyan Tree Desert Spa & Resort, boasts the largest spa in the Middle East and the state-of-the-art Lost Paradise of Dilmun Water Park. Infrastructure works are on schedule to provide roads, electricity, telecoms, water, landscaping and other essential services by the first quarter of 2009. Phase two of the development, expected to be completed by the end of 2009, has begun with construction work for three projects.

These are Domina Prestige Hotel, Oryx Hills (both completing mid-2009) and Sunset Hills (completing end-2009). Downtown Al Areen also starts construction in phase two of the development, but is due to be completed in several phases as it is a large-scale project comprising several components.

Downtown Al Areen includes seven main components, namely Boulevard North, Boulevard South, High Street, Old Town, the Boardwalk, Park Lane and the Esplanade. Phases one and two are expected to be ready by the end of December 2009, while phases three to five are scheduled for completion by the end of December 2010.

The remaining confirmed projects include Al Waha Resort, Sarab Al Areen, the Al Areen Medical Complex and Rehabilitation Centre and a residential tower developed by AL Zamil International. Phase three will be completed in 2012.

The main contractor is Down Town Construction Company, a civil, electrical and mechanical engineering contractor.

It is best known for its expertise in the implementation of construction schemes and infrastructure works, including industrial structures, turnkey electromechanical projects, roads and earthworks, sewerage and drainage and water lines, starting from house connections to pumping phase one, transmission mains up to 1200 mm diameter, fibre optics, telephones and electrical cable laying, jointing, street lighting and associated works, sewerage treatment plants (conventional and MBR technology), refurbishment of existing sewer lines (including jetting, CCTV survey deflection and sonar systems) and reclamation works.

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