Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Hits $14B Milestone in Project Financing
This represents the company’s largest financial milestone to date
ACWA Power, the world’s largest private water desalination company listed in Saudi Arabia, has marked a record-breaking year by successfully reaching financial closure for projects totaling over $14 billion. This achievement represents the company’s largest financial milestone to date. Over the past year, ACWA Power, renowned for its leadership in energy transition and pioneering efforts in green hydrogen, has achieved financial closure for 10 significant projects in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Uzbekistan.
These projects cover a wide spectrum within ACWA Power‘s project portfolio, spanning renewable energy, water desalination, and green hydrogen production. This includes the NEOM Green Hydrogen project, valued at $8.5 billion, which stands as the world’s largest utility-scale green hydrogen production facility currently under construction in Saudi Arabia.
Historic milestone
Remarking on the figures during the Saudi Arabia Investment Forum in New York on October 10, 2023, Abdulhameed Al Muhaidib, CFO of ACWA Power, said: “The past 12 months marks a historic milestone for us, as it represents the highest number of projects we have ever successfully achieved financial closure within 12 months. It demonstrates our agility, resilience, and unwavering commitment to creating a sustainable future for generations to come. It not only validates our expertise as a developer and operator of strategically vital projects but also speaks highly about the trust our investors and partners place in us.”
In addition to the NEOM Green Hydrogen project, Acwa Power also achieved financial closes of the Ar Rass solar PV and the Al Shuaibah 1 and Al Shuaibah 2 solar PV projects, which form a critical part of Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP); three wind projects in Uzbekistan – Bash, Dzhankeldy and Nukus; the Kom Ombo solar project in Egypt; the Shuaibah 3 IWP, and most recently the Rabigh 4 IWP in Yanbu.
“The financial execution base shows the accelerated rate of development underway across countries when it comes to energy transition,” added Al Muhaidib. “We expect this to ramp up even further in the coming years as governments realise the additional economic benefits of changing their energy mix beyond the climate and environmental ones.”
Market credibility
Financing for these projects has been sourced from several local and international financial institutions and infrastructure development funds, highlighting ACWA Power’s market credibility and innovative approach to financing, but also speaking to the growing appetite of institutions in supporting energy transition projects.
Over the coming months, ACWA Power will continue to pursue new opportunities and partnerships that align with this mission, to scale up its project footprint both within Saudi Arabia and globally.
At present, ACWA Power has 75 assets in various stages of development and in operation, in geographies including the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.