Cooling contract award brings Versace hotel opening closer in Dubai

The grand Versace-designed project was reported to have included plans for the world’s first refrigerated beach. It was originally due to be completed in 2009.

The opening of Dubai’s long-delayed Palazzo Versace hotel and resort came a step closer yesterday, when Enshaa awarded a contract to provide district cooling to the Dh2.3 billion project.

Enshaa said that it had awarded Emirates District Cooling (Emicool) the contract to provide chilled water to the Palazzo Versace Dubai Hotel and Condominiums and the D1 Tower, which it is building on Dubai Creek opposite Festival City.

Under the terms of the contract, Emicool will design, build, finance and operate the 7,300 refrigerated tonne plant that will use treated sewage water for its cooling towers and which will start supplying chilled water for air conditioning by September 2014, Enshaa said yesterday.

The ambitious hotel scheme was first launched in 2006 by Emirates Sunland Group, a joint venture between the Enshaa subsidiary Emirates International Holding and the Australian developer Sunland Group.

The grand Versace-designed project of 169 apartments, a 215-room hotel and an 80-storey block of flats, was reported to have included plans for the world’s first refrigerated beach. It was originally due to be completed in 2009.

In 2011 Enshaa took full control of the development as part of an asset swap with Sunland for its stake in Palazzo Versace Gold Coast as work on the Dubai project stalled.

Enshaa blamed the delays on a lack of power, water and other utilities on the site.

The Enshaa chief executive Raza Jafar welcomed the cooling deal as “step forward”.

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