Pilot project agreement signed to improve energy efficiency in 4 government facilities

TDT | Manama

Bahrain announced launching a pilot project to reduce the consumption of electricity and water at four government-buildings for 742 thousand Bahraini dinars. Siemens, a German multinational conglomerate company, is executing the project at the Ministries of Sports, education, and Health and Real estate authority.

Cost of the project, Siemens said, is expected to be recovered in less than four years through savings on annual electricity and water bills. Shaikh Nawaf bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, CEO of the Electricity and Water Authority, and Bassem Akkawi, General Manager of Siemens, Bahrain Branch signed the deal.

Ayman Tawfiq Al-Muayyad, the Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs, Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the Director-General of Real Estate Regulatory for the Survey and Real Estate Regulatory Authority, Dr Mubarak Mohamed Juma, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Resources and Services Affair for the Ministry of Education, Dr Waleed bin Khalifa Al Mana, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for the Ministry of Health, and James Estlake, the CEO of Tatweer for Tatweer Petroleum company also signed the deal.

The project, also the first joint effort between National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA) and the Electricity and Water Authority, is launched under the patronage of Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Oil. Commenting on the project, Shaikh Nawaf said the project would achieve an annual savings of around 23 per cent by retrofitting energy appliance in the buildings.

Siemens, he said, is fully responsible for executing the project and proper operation of the replaced equipment during the contractual period including the replacement of damaged equipment at their own expense. The move is aimed at reducing the Kingdom’s carbon footprint, and dependence on natural gas used for producing electricity and water. The project, Shaikh Mohammed, said is particularly important, especially, in light of the difficult circumstance the world is going through, which is also destabilising oil prices.