Zakitó District Cooling, a no brainer

CCR Investment (owner of the building Curaçao Caribbean Resort, formerly Hilton) becomes the first institution of its kind to sign the Cooling Service Agreement with Zakito District Cooling. Zakito District Cooling intends to provide cooling to all the suitable, centrally cooled, buildings between Rif and Piscadera, such as the World Trade Center Curaçao, Residence Piscadera, Renaissance, and the New Hospital.

Rolf Sprecher (Managing Director at CCR Investment) states: “Zakito District Cooling was a no-brainer for us. With no investment costs for us to connect to the system, it will result in immediate benefits. Besides being very environmentally friendly, the system is very good for business too. We also intend to use the service for our future expansion plans of ca. 300 rooms. Cooling amounts to ca. 70-80% of our total energy consumption. The Zakito District Cooling system offers us the possibility to realize cooling at a lower cost for a 15-year term. The system will thus make our operations much less vulnerable to the ever-fluctuating energy costs; energy cost fluctuations can be a substantial risk for their long term profitability, especially for businesses with low-profit margins. Moreover, the system will help the island “go green” much faster, which has great marketing value for the hotel industry but also for Curaçao as a whole. We have been actively following the technology for almost 15 years and have total confidence in the Zakito District Cooling consortium to realize the project successfully”.

Provided they receive all permits and final contracts from remaining clients in a timely fashion, Zakito District Cooling intends to start construction on the Q4 in 2019.

Gilbert Gouverneur (Managing Director of Zakito District Cooling) “We know Deep seawater is one of the most reliable, sustainable and cost-efficient energy sources in the world. Especially for island nations, deep seawater is a valuable source of growth. With large scale seawater projects like this it will be possible to not only provide reliable (hurricane and tsunami proof), sustainable and cost-effective cooling for many clients, but also potentially create a snowball effect which could be used to cultivate the island’s vegetables (greenhouses) and seafood (aquaculture), a potential new economic pillar for Curaçao. Deep Seawater technology is a logical move in the shift towards green and more self-sufficient islands and becoming more independent from foreign influences like fuel and food markets.”