A consortium led by SNC-Lavalin, one of the leading engineering and construction groups in the world, has won a contract to provide district cooling services for the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Canadian construction company along with its partner Toledo Arabia Company was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract worth $98 million by Saudi Riyadh Cooling Company.

As per the deal, SNC-Lavalin will be responsible for the design, procurement, construction and commissioning of two district cooling plants, with a total capacity of 38,000 Refrigeration Tonnes (RT), equal to 134 MW, including a thermal storage tank with an output capacity of 5,000 RT.

The engineering work has already started on the project and the construction is scheduled to start later this week, said a statement from SNC-Lavlin.

The chilled water production for the first cooling plant is planned for August 2017 and September 2018 for the second cooling plant, it added.

On the contract win, Ian Edwards, the president (infrastructure), said: "With 45 district cooling projects in the Gulf region, it brings us great pride to leverage our expertise to provide the Saudi Riyadh Cooling Company a viable and sustainable energy solution."

"In addition to meeting the demand for cooling at the King Khalid International Airport, the district cooling solution will lower energy requirements while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sound pollution," he added.-TradeArabia News Service