Dubai, U.A.E., 9 July 2006 - The Emirates Green Building Council (Emirates GBC) announced today, UAE's first ever LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Building. The Emirates GBC was formed earlier this year with the goal of advancing green building principles for protecting the environment and ensuring sustainability in the United Arab Emirates.

Wafi City, a residential and commercial development in Dubai which includes the mall, residence, as well as the Pyramids recreation area, is building a luxury hotel as part of its expansion scheme.

District Cooling Chiller Plant - DCCP ONE, which is the first phase of a 20,000 ton central chilled water plant serving the whole Wafi City, was declared a LEEDTM Silver Building with a potential of achieving a Gold rating. Trane, a leading global provider of indoor comfort systems and comprehensive facility solutions, will supply the 8100 ton central cooling plant with Trane's EarthWise CenTraVacTM chillers that use R-123, providing considerable savings in operational cost and power consumption.

LEEDTM is a voluntary standard for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. It's based on industry standards developed by the United States Green Building Council States and emphasizes state of the art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

"In a country like the UAE, where people spend more than 90 percent of their time indoors, green buildings offer healthier and more efficient solutions to owners, occupants and businesses," said Mohsen Aboulnaga, PhD, Professor in Architecture & Sustainable Design, Founder & Chairman, of the Emirates Green Building Council. "It has been demonstrated that energy and water efficient buildings have been able to reduce the operating costs by more than 50 percent by employing well-integrated green design concept.

Applying the concept has proved to enhance the asset value and profitability of the building. A building that satisfies LEED certification requirements positively impacts labor productivity, retail sales, hotel resident comfort and manufacturing quality and output. Moreover, comfortable spaces tend to keep tenants in their occupancies for longer periods."

To earn a Silver rating, a project must earn 33 to 38 points out of a maximum of 69 points on the LEED rating system. The points are accumulated from the different categories recognizing achievements and promoting expertise in green building through a comprehensive system offering project certification, professional accreditation, training and practical resources.

MKM Commercial Holdings LLC with Green Technologies embarked on an environmentally responsible building that integrated the whole-building design practices recognizing environmental leadership in the building industry to transform the building market.

Mario Seneviratne, P.Eng a LEED Accredited Professional, Director of Green Technologies explained that operating costs are important to any utility project like a Central Cooling plant. A Green Building has low operating costs as well as environmentally responsible design, two criteria that are important to the owner.

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About Emirates GBC
EmiratesGBC vision is primarily centered on achieving the highest level of Sustainable Built-environment in the United Arab Emirates through the promotion of High-performance Green Buildings and environmentally-friendly technologies.

About LEEDTM
LEED was developed by the United States Green Buildings Council and has been used in over ten countries around the world to:

  • Define "green building" by establishing a common standard of measurement

  • Promote integrated, whole-building design practices

  • Recognize environmental leadership in the building industry

  • Stimulate green competition

  • Raise consumer awareness of green building benefits

  • Transform the building market

LEED recognizes achievements and promotes expertise in green building through a comprehensive system offering project certification, professional accreditation, training and practical resources.

About Green Technologies
Green Technologies is a specialist Mechanical, Electrical Engineering and Project Management company which adopts sustainable strategies in their designs. They base their designs on the guidelines of the United States Green Building Council's LEED standards. Information about the company can be found at www.greentechno.com

About Trane CenTraVacTM chiller
Trane's CenTraVac centrifugal chillers - which are used in District Cooling systems across the world - are up to 13.5 per cent more energy efficient than the next available large chiller. The chiller proved to have the lowest refrigerant emission rate in the industry.

For more information, reporters may contact:
Tania Atallah/Marwan Abu Ghanem,
04 3344930,
Tania.atallah@hillandknowlton.com  or marwan.abu-ghanem@hillandknowlton.com

© Press Release 2006