Dubai-based district cooling provider Empower has settled a half-yearly loan installment of AED83m ($22.6m).

The loan was part of a AED1.2bn syndicated loan facility from a consortium of banks and financial institutions, with Emirates NBD as the facility agent. In total, Empower has settled AED760m of the loan facility.

The half-yearly loan was used to finance the development of Empower’s district cooling plants and networks in areas including Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Business Bay, Mirdif, Tecom C and Al-Quoz.

Consumption of district cooling provided by the company rose 23.3 per cent in July 2012, the result of a significant increase in occupancy levels in residential and office areas. The rise in demand contributed to the company’s $51.7m profits in 2012, representing a 17 per cent growth on 2011.