Taqa, GS Inima close $444m Abu Dhabi RO project deal
ABU DHABI, December 22, 2023
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Spanish utility major GS Inima have signed an agreement with Emirates Water and Electricity Company to successfully close the AED1.6 billion ($444 million) Shuweihat 4 Reverse Osmosis seawater desalination project (S4 RO).
Announcing the deal, Taqa said commercial operations are expected to commence in Q2 2026, with Ewec procuring water supplied by the S4 RO plant for 30 years.
This is Taqa's second utility-scale reverse osmosis plant to reach financial close this year. Also it is the second major reverse osmosis project awarded by Ewec this year, following the Mirfa 2 Reverse Osmosis Seawater Desalination Project in H1 2023.
Located within the Shuweihat Power and Water Complex, S4 RO will supply up to 70 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) of potable water, significantly enhancing the security of water supply in Abu Dhabi.
The project is 60% owned by Taqa and 40% by GS Inima. Both companies will also take on the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the plant, with 60% of the O&M company owned by GS Inima.
According to Taqa, the S4 RO financial closing comes following the sealing of the water purchase agreement by the duo with Ewec in August.
The low-carbon intensive project is primarily funded (71%) through debt financing from both local and international banks, including Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank of Dubai, KfW IPEX-Bank and The Export-Import Bank of Korea.
Farid Al Awlaqi, Executive Director of Generation at Taqa, said the company has established itself as the UAE’s leading utility company for owning and operating large-scale RO water desalination plants.
"S4 RO will further enhance our existing portfolio and our strong pipeline of RO projects that are bringing us closer to meeting our 2030 target for deploying efficient RO technology within our water generation portfolio. Taqa’s water generation capacity will be over 1,250 MIGD, making us a major player in water desalination," he stated.
Lauding the financial closing, Ewec CEO Othman Al Ali said it is the second strategically important RO project to reach this major milestone in 2023.
"S4 RO will grow our RO production capacity and boost security of supply, becoming our sixth RO project. We are strategically decoupling water and power generation and forecast that over 90 per cent of our water production capacity will be from RO technology by 2030, resulting in a 492% increase in our RO capacity compared to 2020, and significantly reducing carbon emissions," he added.
Coupled with Ewec's plans for a 600% increase in solar power generation capacity by 2030, Al Ali said the utility major is actively driving the achievement of Abu Dhabi’s Clean Energy Targets 2035, and the UAE’s NetZero by 2050 strategic initiative.
Diego de Vera, Global Business Development Director from GS Inima, said: “We are proud to have succeeded in completing the financial close for S4 RO during globally challenging times. The diligence and effort put into the structuring of the project is outstanding. It not only demonstrates our position as a worldwide referent in the water sector but also speaks highly about the trust our investors and partners place in us."
"We look forward to working with them, contributing to a more efficient water sector in UAE and beyond," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
