District Cooling in Lusail Explained for Buyers and Tenants

How Does District Cooling in Lusail Work?

Instead of conventional air conditioners seen on most buildings in Qatar, district cooling in Lusail transports water, cooled at six central cooling plants, through a network of 170 kilometers of underground and tunneled pipes to cool air in buildings. According to a synopsis dated 7 January 2025 and published on the Lusail City website, the district cooling system in Lusail has a total capacity of approximately 650,000 tons of refrigeration.

Inside each building, an energy transfer station links the pipes of the building to the city network. In its design guidelines for Lusail, Marafeq describes that station as the part of the system that belongs to the customer, while Marafeq operates the network itself. The chilled water never enters the home. It passes its cooling to the water circuit of the building through heat exchangers and then returns to the plant.

The city also has a gas network. These services can affect what Lusail homeowners are able to install in their properties and how much they may pay each month for their utility bills.

Arady explains more about these services below, including how they work, who provides them, who regulates them and how much they could cost.

Who Runs District Cooling and Gas in Lusail?

Marafeq Qatar, along with its wholly owned subsidiary Lusail City District Cooling Company (LCDC), described in the synopsis as the specialized arm of the master developer of Lusail City, Qatari Diar, holds the exclusive responsibility for financing, designing, building, operating and maintaining the district cooling and gas systems under long-term concession arrangements.

Marafeq Qatar and LCDC are authorized to collect fees and charges as determined by Qatari Diar, Marafeq Qatar and LCDC.

All developments in Lusail City must be designed and constructed in accordance with Marafeq Qatar and LCDC requirements, so that they can connect to the district cooling and gas systems. Qatari Diar is tasked with ensuring compliance with the two systems by all developers, owners and end users in Lusail City.

What Can Owners Not Install?

Where the land has been zoned for district cooling, it is not permitted to install standalone cooling, such as split units or chillers.

Likewise, in areas zoned for connection to the city gas network, it will not be possible to use gas cylinders or fit electric cookers. Synthetic natural gas is produced in four gas farms and distributed through the city gas network.

Those purchasing off-plan should check the zoning of their plot before designing their kitchen or planning interior fit-out works. What residents may place on balconies is covered in the Arady guide to the Lusail community rules.

Who Regulates District Cooling in Qatar?

No person shall operate or establish a district cooling system or provide district cooling services without obtaining a license. The license shall be valid for a period of 15 years and renewable for periods of five years. That is the position under Law No. 19 of 2024 regulating district cooling services, according to the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa), which is the regulator.

Under the law, licensed providers are required to install meters in the energy transfer station room of a building for the purpose of measuring the amount of cooling consumed. Customers shall be responsible for protecting the equipment that delivers the service and shall not tamper with it.

In addition, Kahramaa considers the complaints of district cooling providers, customers and consumers and resolves disputes among them.

As reported by The Peninsula, the executive regulations of the law were issued in 2025 and were followed by four decisions in 2026. One of these decisions provides that buildings located in areas designated for district cooling shall, in principle, be connected to the system once technically ready to do so.

The same report puts the number of district cooling plants operating in Qatar at 70 as of 2023, with a combined capacity of about 1.15 million tons of refrigeration. It adds that a standalone building outside a designated zone may still be required to connect where its cooling demand reaches 1,500 tons of refrigeration.

How Much Does District Cooling Cost in Lusail?

There is no published price list available for Marafeq cooling in Lusail, and no prices are given in the synopsis.

An indicative price quoted in the market for Erkyah is around QAR 5.5 per square meter per month. This would equate to a monthly cooling charge of around QAR 550 for an apartment of 100 square meters and QAR 825 for one of 150 square meters. These are only rough estimates, and cooling charges will vary from building to building and will depend on the size of the apartment and actual usage.

A Marafeq guideline for Lusail calls for every chilled water user in a building to be sub-metered, so that cooling charges can be calculated on a monthly basis. Depending on the landlord, the cooling charge may or may not be included in the monthly rent. Purchase costs are covered separately in the Arady guide to Lusail property prices.

What Should Buyers and Tenants Ask First?

A few points are worth settling in writing before a contract is signed.

1. Whether district cooling and gas are included in the rent or billed separately
2. Whose name the Marafeq account is in, and who pays if the home sits empty
3. What the cooling bills for the same unit were last summer
4. Whether the unit has a sub-meter of its own
5. Whether any unpaid balance remains on the account before it changes hands

Customers can contact Marafeq Qatar, located in Al Baraha Building in Lusail City, through its online portal, by email at [email protected] or by calling 4012 0120.

Electricity and water services fall under Kahramaa, as explained in the Arady guide to a Kahramaa new connection. For any unresolved district cooling issue with the provider, customers can file a complaint with the regulator Kahramaa through its call center on 991.

Apartments for Sale in Lusail

Buyers can browse apartments for sale in Lusail on Arady.

See all apartments for sale in Lusail

Sources

• Lusail City, Synopsis of the District Cooling and Gas Supply Systems Operated Exclusively by Marafeq Qatar, Rev. 01
• Kahramaa, entity responsible for regulating district cooling services in Qatar
• Kahramaa, laws and regulations page
• Marafeq Qatar, District Cooling Sub-Meter System Guideline for Lusail, Rev. 02
• The Peninsula, new regulations for the district cooling sector