Empowered to grow

Empower is a provider of district cooling, an effective air-conditioning solution that is considerably more cost-efficient than the air-cooled chiller systems serving large buildings and real estate developments.

The company is a member of Dubai Holding and was launched to consolidate the various large-scale infrastructure and investment projects in Dubai. Dubai Holding exclusively owns 19 companies operating in a variety of sectors such as health, finance, real estate, education, tourism and industrial manufacturing.

"We are the answer to the Dubai Government’s vision to supply optimized energy solutions needed to support Dubai’s huge expansion," says Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower. "Empower was created with the objective of providing world-class, cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly district cooling services to Dubai in general and Dubai Holding entities in particular."

Empower’s schemes include several residential, commercial and business areas, a financial centre, a healthcare city plus a technology and media centre. And there are many more projects to come.

One of Empower’s first roles was supplying district cooling services to Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai’s biggest and most prestigious residential development. This residence comprises an area of 22 million square feet across a length of 1.7 kilometres and includes 36 residential towers, 4 hotel towers and beach clubs.

Health care of world class

Another important project that will benefit from Empower’s reliable cooling services is the Dubai Health Care City, to be completed in January 2007. With over nine million feet of gross floor area the Dubai Health Care City will be the biggest project of its kind in the world with hospitals, clinics, medical education and research facilities. Bin Shafar is convinced that the Dubai Health Care City will become an internationally-recognized location for quality healthcare.

"It has all the potential to compete on a global level. Empower is privileged to be part of this fantastic project."

Alfa Laval will supply heat exchangers to the district cooling network for the Dubai Health Care City as well as for the Dubai International Financial Centre presently under construction. The centre will be a dynamic financial district benefiting from Dubai’s perfect location at the crossroads of the major international capital markets.

"Alfa Laval supplies good solutions and services including genuine spare parts which we consider very important," continues Bin Shafar. "We meet the Alfa Laval team regularly and they have also supplied tenders for up-coming projects. We are anxious to build long-term relationships with our suppliers that result in a continuous improvement of our operations and business."