“This reflects a massive increase in demand for district cooling in the Emirates,” Moubadder told MEED’s District Cooling conference in Dubai on 26 May.

Plans for Union Properties’ Moto City calls for 93,000 tonnes of refrigeration to be installed in two phases.

“We estimate that 33 per cent of the total cost of a building over its entire lifetime is in energy and maintenance,” said Moubadder. “This is what we as a masterplanner are seeking to reduce.”

Moubadder said there were substantial savings to be made from using district cooling, but the industry faced challenges including forecasting maximum plant load and peak demand in the areas served by a district cooling plant.