UAE’s Tabreed invests Dhs44m in TATA Realty’s Intellion Park

The Dubai-listed firm will acquire the existing cooling infrastructure at the Intellion Park development, which covers a total area of 3.5 million square feet

by Kudakwashe Muzoriwa

May 30, 2023

Image credit: Tabreed/ Instagram

UAE’s Tabreed has forayed into India’s district cooling industry with a Dhs44.34m investment in TATA Realty’s Intellion Park special economic zone development in Gurugram, as cooling demand in the country is set to surge by 800 per cent over the next 15 years.

Through the investment, the Dubai-listed firm will acquire the existing cooling infrastructure at the Intellion Park development, which covers a total area of 3.5 million square feet and develop additional capacity to meet the development’s rising demand for cooling services.

Moving away from the standard market practice in India where real estate developers own and operate cooling assets through facility management contracts, Tabreed will provide cost-effective and efficient cooling solutions for tenants of Intellion Park.

“We expect to see large-scale adoption of District Cooling in India as demand for real estate and cooling grows at a rapid pace,” said Khaled Abdulla Al Qubaisi, chairman of Tabreed.

“Tabreed is delighted to partner with Tata Realty to develop leading, innovative District Cooling services, which will support sustainable urban development across India. This will unlock value for our stakeholders while benefitting communities and reducing carbon emissions.”

The district cooling company said it sees India as a key strategic market and important partner as the company is growing its global footprint. Tabreed intends to pave the way for more rapid adoption of district cooling in India through this initial investment while easing the burden of upfront costs for developers to inspire more sustainable cooling solutions for the country’s real estate sector.

The country’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change established the India Cooling Action Plan in 2019 to support the growth of a sustainable District Cooling sector across the country.

The ministry projected that aggregated cooling demand will rise eightfold between 2037 and 38, with cooling expected to account for 45 per cent of peak energy demand across the country by 2050.

District cooling firms deliver chilled water via insulated pipes to cool offices and industrial and residential buildings.

Tabreed’s growing portfolio

Meanwhile, demand for district cooling, which typically grows with new property and commercial developments, has stayed strong in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent – a region that has blisteringly hot summers.

Tabreed reported a first-quarter net profit of Dhs236.4m compared to Dhs88m during the same period in 2022.

The company’s Q1 2023 surged by 10 per cent year-on-year to Dhs464m from Dhs420m in the first three months of 2022, driven by increased new connections during the past 12 months and higher consumption volumes.

Further new customers and projects were added in Q1 2023 with 12,000 refrigerated tonnes (RT) across the UAE and Oman – increasing the company’s total connected capacity to 1.28 million RT.

Similarly, Saudi Tabreed partnered with the Public Investment Fund as a new shareholder with a 30 per cent stake in February, reflecting the group’s continual focus on high-potential growth markets.

Tabreed’s profit from operation increased by 12 per cent to Dhs172m while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped by 1.5 per cent to Dhs268m from Dhs264m in the same period a year earlier.