Doha's new 'West Bay' district turns on to the benefits of district cooling

Qatar Cool's West Bay Cooling scheme is part of that drive. With 5 new towers joining the scheme, and another 10 already on board, it's also confirmation that Doha's new district has recognized the benefits of this new and innovative method to 'beat the heat'.

'Qatar Cool is proud to play a role in the development of Doha's West Bay. Our portfolio of projects is gaining pace and with more commercial and residential projects being planned, we are in a strong position to capitalize on this growth,' said Colin Goulding, General Manager of Qatar Cool. 'We expect the West Bay cooling scheme to be sold out in 2 to 3 months', he added.

'Landlords are attracted to the maintenance-free, economic and environmentally friendly cooling benefits of the technology, while tenants enjoy reduced ambient noise and better temperature control in their homes, making it the perfect solution to all cooling requirements' concluded Goulding.

The five new prestigious projects that have signed up to Qatar Cool's district cooling scheme include two residential towers: Al Rabban and M Tower; two hotel towers: Marriott Courtyard and Marriott Renaissance; as well as one office building: Lotus Tower.

Owned by Mr. Khalid bin Mohamed Khalid Al Rabban, the Al Rabban Residential Tower will offer 152 fully furnished two and three bedroom flats and four duplex apartments as well as a total of 250 indoor and outdoor parking spots. A health club, gym, children's playground, mosque and 350 sqm swimming pool and terrace will also be available for use by all tenants. Scheduled for completion in August 2006 the tower combines modern and arabesque design elements.

'Joining the district cooling scheme simply made more economic sense' said Mr. Kamal Darghawth, Rabban Group General Manager 'it's good for the owner and leaves the maintenance work to others'.

The residential M Tower will offer 150 two bedroom and 50 three bedroom fully furnished luxury apartments as well as a gym, sauna and swimming pool, located on the ground floor. Owned by Sheikh Mohamed bin Suhaim Al Thani, the M Tower is scheduled for completion in May 2006.

'By not having chillers on the roof we've lightened the load on the building in addition to reducing vibration and noise' said Nidal Al-Samman, Project Manager Commodore Qatar Contracting Co. about the advantages of district cooling for his project.

Standing at 50 storeys the two Marriott Towers, Renaissance and Courtyard are being developed in line with efforts to establish Qatar as leading quality destination for tourism. The Four-Star Marriott Courtyard with 204 guestrooms and 127 executive apartments and the Five-Star Marriott Renaissance with 258 guestroms will be located at the City Centre Development near the new commercial and business centres of Doha. The two buildings are owned by the Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company, Chaired by Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim bin Faisal Al Thani.

With an all glass exterior, the 25 storey Lotus tower will offer tenants a panoramic view of the West Bay district and Doha Bay. Owned by H.E. Yousef Essa M. Al Jaber the tower is located across the street from City Centre Doha and is designed to resemble a lotus flower. Once completed, Lotus Tower will be able to accommodate up to 100 offices.

'By opting for the district cooling scheme instead of conventional air conditioners, we were able to save 8000 sqm of rentable space' said Nicolas Jarrouj, MZ&Partners Project Manager, 'using chilled water also allows us to build higher towers as it's more efficient than conventional air conditioners for cooling higher floors'.

Over 60,000 refrigerant tons of cooling will be produced and distributed at Qatar Cool's West Bay cooling plant and plans are a foot to build additional cooling plants in other districts around Doha. Work on the West Bay plant is currently underway and a 42km network of pre-insulated pipes is being layed in the area.