Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON) and NTCC signed an agreement to provide Jeddah Second Industrial City with District Cooling Service under BOT system. The system will provide the industrial city about 100,000 tons of district cooling services and produce electrical power of about 80 megawatts. Furthermore, a steam network will also be established for the first time in the industrial cities. These services will help in reducing plants' costs and provide a unique service that helps to save energy, preserve the environment and increase productivity. The project is expected to be completed by the end of year 2011. MODON Director General Dr. Tawfig Bin Fawzan Alrabiah signed the contract. The district cooling service agreement is based on achieving the goals and strategies of MODON in full partnership with the private sector under which, NTCC will undertake financing process and creation of District cooling plants, distribution networks and heat exchangers, to be operated for 30 years, with an investment of up to one billion and one hundred million Saudi Riyals. This will save the government significant costs related to the infrastructure of the electricity, water and operation. Alrabiah said “that district cooling technique is now spread widely, due to the value this technique adds compared to the conventional cooling techniques used to cool the buildings, and its consumption of far less energy compared with the conventional cooling systems, as environment friendly technique and economical in use of energy. The selection of this system came as a result of the industrial cities' efforts aiming at raising and upgrading the levels of services presented within the industrial cities and providing the opportunity to our customers to focus on their basic industry while MODON undertakes to provide them with needed support services through a comprehensive program to upgrade the infrastructure level within the industrial cities.” The district cooling is being developed within the industrial cities without relying on drinking water, as the cooling plants may use the treated water for cooling the refrigerants directly, which directly contributes to making use of what is produced by water treatment plants within the industrial cities and to be recycled that allows better use of water resources. The irrigation water and other non-potable water can also be used as an alternative. MODON systems contribute in reducing power consumption to 50 percent for the central plants operated by electrical power, which will contribute in reducing air pollution, carbon dioxide and warm gas. that causes greenhouse effect phenomenon. The district cooling represents a major boost for efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at the global level. Jeddah Second Industrial City is considered to be one of the major projects in the Kingdom with an area of eight million square meters, including an integrated network of roads, sidewalks, parking areas, signage and landscaping, networks of drinking water, sewage networks and a range of treatment plants for treating and pumping sewage water, irrigation water tanks, agriculture irrigation networks and drainage networks, rainwater collection channels, sub power plants, distribution network of electric power, street lighting systems, communication systems and information technology. MODON had taken into account the design of the development of the project using the best standards and technical specifications that help facilitate the operations of the plants and goods transport movement and passing within the industrial city. Also, areas of interest of the green areas is taken into account in the design and the presence of all services, including shops and residential areas to be an ideal environment of life in the industrial city. Jeddah Second Industrial City is located 35 km south of Jeddah city on Jeddah - Leeth - Jazan highway. The Industrial city will be linked with Jeddah - Leeth highway at a distance of 2 km, and with the corniche south road at a distance of 15 km, with a number of bridges, culverts, landscaping and lighting, so as to facilitate movement to and from the industrial city. MODON currently oversees 18 existing industrial cities in the various regions of the Kingdom (Riyadh 1 & 2, Jeddah 1 & 2, Dammam 1 & 2, Makkah, Qassim, Ahsa, Madinah, Assir, Al Jouf, Tabuk, Hail, Najran, Al-Kharj, Jazan, and Ar'ar). The investment in these cities exceeds 200 billion riyals and more than 300 thousand workers are operating in these cities. In addition, development of new industrial cities is currently under process in Sudair, Zulfi, and Taif.
