Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) has opened a district cooling plant built at a cost of Dh25 million ($6.8 million) to help meet its air-conditioning demand.

The plant, which uses chilled water to control air temperature and treat ventilated air in RAK FTZ buildings, was designed by RAK FTZ engineers. It enables the free zone’s air conditioning units to use less electricity while producing better air quality and more climate control for clients.

It is the second district cooling plant in Ras Al Khaimah, and the first one in the emirate that was built for a non-commercial use.

As an additional benefit to the environment, the plant will recycle the water it discharges to irrigate trees and plants.

The new plant is part of the Free Trade Zone's ongoing initiatives to conserve the earth’s resources while providing the highest-quality service to clients, said a senior official.

“The opening of the new plant underscores RAK FTZ’s commitment to continuously improve the free zone’s infrastructure and find new and better ways to reduce energy and water consumption while making it as easy as possible for our clients to conduct business,” remarked Eyad Ismail, the engineering manager.

“The new plant will not only reduce carbon emissions and provide better air conditioning for our clients, it can also be enlarged to provide energy-efficient climate control for more RAK FTZ clients in the future as the free zone continues to expand,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service