UAE provides good environment for well-established public-private partnership

After the acquisition of a 40 percent stake in Abu Dhabi's Tabreed in June 2017, French energy giant ENGIE, has become a worldwide leader of independent district cooling, according to a top executive of the company.
"We are very satisfied with our business targets in Tabreed, the National Central Cooling Company. The government of UAE has succeeded in creating a good business environment for a well-established public-private partnership (PPP) for power and water development that can attract significant international investment," Sebastien Arbola, CEO, Middle East, South & Central Asia, and Turkey of Paris-listed ENGIE told the Emirates News Agency, WAM, on the sidelines of the World Future Energy Summit which commenced at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre yesterday.
While commending the robust legislation and the investment-conducive environment of UAE, Arbola, however, said there is a need for more flexibility to meet future challenges.
"More flexibility is needed to incentivise people and launch various types of projects," he added.
ENGIE is a global energy and services group, focused on three core activities: low-carbon power generation, mainly based on natural gas and renewable energy, global networks and customer solutions.
"In response to today's energy needs, we have re-profiled ENGIE to focus its resources on areas of business where the Group has a competitive edge; those that have a future in a world of energy defined by carbon reduction, decentralisation and digitalisation."
He underlined the necessity of getting geared to the major challenges of energy's transition to a low-carbon economy.
"With the energy transition, the world of energy will be more and more decentralised, decarbonised and digitalised. In the Green Energy Report 2019, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said, 'Preserving our energy resources will be one of the greatest challenges in our drive towards sustainable development'. This, however, will not materialise unless the facets of our society adopt energy conservation principles in their core values."
With more than 30GW capacity under its portfolio, ENGIE has cut loose from its past ways of doing business in order to cope with the rapidly evolving energy transformation. The group is cutting itself away from its conventional power past and steering into a leadership role in the global clean energy future.
In June 2017, ENGIE acquired a 40% stake in Tabreed, the regional leader in district cooling networks. The company distributes the equivalent of one million tonnes of cooling produced by its 71 district cooling plants located in the Gulf countries. In the UAE, ENGIE has many prestigious customers, including the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Metro, and the Al Maryah and Yas islands.
According to statistics obtained by WAM, the ENGIE Group has 150,000 employees in 70 countries. Listed in Paris and Brussels (ENGI), the Group is represented in the main financial and extra-financial indices and has almost 30 years regional presence.
Sebastien Arbola has worked in the ENGIE Group since 2006. He was promoted to CEO for ENGIE Middle East, South & Central Asia and Turkey in September 2016.