Qatar’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry inaugurates the 130,000 TR plant in a glittering ceremony. Story by B. Surendar.

Qatar showcased its economic might last night through the opening of the world’s largest district cooling plant, in the peninsula’s iconic The Pearl-Qatar development. H.E. the Deputy Premier and Minster of Energy and Industry Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah inaugurated the Qatar Cool plant, which has a maximum capacity of 130,000 TR.

Accompanying the minister were a host of Qatari dignitaries and diplomats. Also in attendance were delegates of the 5th International District Cooling Conference and Trade Show, hosted by Qatar Cool and conducted by the International District Energy Association (IDEA) from November 7 to 9 in Doha. Senior officials from CAT and from Johnson Controls (JCI) were also present.

Speaking on the occasion, Qatar Cool Chairman, Oman Al Fardan thanked the country’s leaders for their support in making the plant a reality. Later, speaking exclusively to Climate Control Middle East, Al Fardan said the plant represented the success of the concept of economy of scale that it should support the cooling needs of an entire island. Also speaking on the occasion was Fayad Al Khatib, the CEO of Qatar Cool, who said the plant was symbolic of Qatar Cool’s mission to deliver world-class solutions for the region.

The integrated district cooling plant, fitted with 52 York (JCI) chillers (26 with 2,600 TR each and 26 with 2,400 TR each), is fully geared to supply chilled water to 41,000 residents in 15,000 buildings in The Pearl-Qatar project. It boasts of 26 cooling towers, 26 chilled water pumps (7,500 GPM each) and 26 condenser water pumps (11,170 GPM each). The plant is integrated with an adjacent Reverse Osmosis Plant, with a capacity of 35000 m3/ day.

(See detailed story and pictures on the plant and coverage of the IDEA conference in the November 2010 issue of Climate Control Middle East, out on November 22. Watch out for updates on this site.)