Dubai, UAE, 23 January 2019: Empower discussed the growing role that Artificial Intelligence will play in improving the efficiency and reliability of District Cooling plants, with Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO, providing an update on the unmanned and fully automated 50,000 Tonnes of Refrigeration (TR) District Cooling plant the company is developing in Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC). Bin Shafar said that the plant is currently in the early stages of its construction and is expected to be completed by October 2019. Bin Shafar added that while the JVC plant serves as a trial, the company is committed to the success of the pilot project’s operation and maintenance as part of its efforts to upgrade business operations. Eventually, he said, Empower will look to make all plant rooms unmanned. The company, he added, is committed to investing in R&D to provide services in the most efficient manner possible.

On whether there will be a move to export Empower’s knowledge and expertise to other countries in the region, such as Iraq, in view of the nation’s rehabilitation efforts, Bin Shafar underscored the cost associated with the expertise the company has gained through its growth. “The know-how we have costs money, time, effort and salaries,” he said. Sharing of knowledge, Bin Shafar added, can come in a mutually beneficial manner. “I can give you a good final product with the system and everything, but there is a cost to it,” he said. “But we can give something suitable, we can advise on what to do, or we can fix it, employ people from your country and my country to make you reach that level and we will agree on an exit strategy. If you don’t want us to be there, we will go, if you want us to be an adviser and be with you until you become mature, we will give you a choice to continue with us.”

Commenting on recent reports of the United Arab Emirates possibly co-hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, provided issues are resolved, Bin Shafar said that Empower would be willing to supply chilled water to stadia projects. “If the United Arab Emirates agrees to enter the World Cup and they need air conditioning services for the stadium, absolutely, we can do it,” he said. “We will not hesitate, and we have the expertise, the strength and the ability to supply this.”