Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power said on Saturday they had secured financing of 3.19 billion dirhams ($869 million) for Abu Dhabi’s Taweelah water desalination plant.



The project would be the world’s largest reverse osmosis desalination plant, the two companies said in a statement.



Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, is building the Taweelah water desalination plant independent of a power generation plant for the first time. It has traditionally built water and power plants side by side.



The plant will supply 909,200 cubic meters per day (m3/day) of water, 44% more than the world’s current largest reverse osmosis plant of 624,000 (m3/day), meeting the water demand of 350,000 households, the statement said.



The financing was a combination of 2.71 billion dirhams in loans, with the remainder from shareholders and operating cash flow from pre-operations, it added.



Local and international banks including Emirates NBD, Natixis Mizuho Bank Siemens Bank, Bank Boubyan, and the Norinchukin Bank have provided the loans.



Abu Dhabi Power Corporation and Mubadala Investment Company hold a 60 percent equity interest in the Taweelah project while ACWA Power holds the remaining 40 percent. EWEC is a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Power Corporation.



The plant is due to start full commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:56 - GMT 06:56