Qatar: Ahead of the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the government has undertaken a slew of major infrastructure projects to cater to the millions of tourists expected to visit the country during this period. Roads and transport, stadiums and hospitality sector have been witnessing large-scale investments. But a key area of focus is maintaining a comfortable room temperature. The hot climatic conditions in the country require cooling systems that can effectively meet the needs of all the buildings. According to experts, District Cooling will play a major role, especially with respect to cooling the stadiums.

Salah Nezar, Corporate Sustainability Director, at Qatar Project Management, feels that the upcoming mega-event will be a major boost to the District Cooling sector. “The future of District Cooling in Qatar is really promising, despite the mild stagnation observed recently,” he said. He mentioned that the investments at present are estimated to be around USD 2.2 billion, which is expected to reach USD 4 billion within the next four years, based on the size of various projects that are currently under construction or in the pipeline.

Nezar adds: “The District Cooling penetration rate in Qatar is about 10%, and it’s expected to grow at a steady pace to reach 15% within the coming six years. To illustrate the progress made during the past few years, the District Cooling industry in Qatar is no longer mentioning the Pearl Qatar cooling plant (the largest cooling plant in the world) as a reference and successful case study. Lusail City District Cooling system is becoming the new benchmark. The length of the looped reticulation is exceeding 160 kilometres, to be served by four scattered plants with a total cooling capacity of 330,000 TR.”