Dubai's Empower Eyes Expansion After $410m Loan Deal

Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world's largest district cooling services provider, has announced that it has secured a syndicated loan of AED1.5 billion ($410 million).

The deal with a group of local, regional and international banks to finance Empower’s new projects, the company said in a statement.

Empower, which has more than 1,090 buildings that are using district cooling services, catering to around 100,000 customers, will use the funds to expand capacity and district cooling infrastructure in various projects that include Jumeirah Village South, International Media Production Zone, Business Bay, Barsha Heights, Deira Waterfront Development and others.

The repayments are scheduled to be made in half-yearly installments, the company said.

Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower, said the loan was oversubscribed by more than 3.5 times.

“Through financing, international, regional and local banks have contributed to the growth of the district cooling industry; one of the safest industries in terms of risk and investment returns,” he said.

“Promoting the use of sustainable, competitive and safe energy sources is a key objective for us, and we have seen a strong response from our partner banks in achieving this objective," he added.