Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power has signed financing and security agreements for 2.05 billion Saudi riyals ($546.59 million) Rawabi Water Desalination Company (Rabigh-4) Independent Water Plant (IWP) project.
The funds were raised from a consortium of local and global banks that included Standard Chartered Bank, Saudi National Bank, Riyad Bank, The Saudi Investment Bank, and Bank of China, the company said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange.
The funding will be valid for 27.5 years, with the guarantee limited to ACWA Power’s equity commitment and its pro rata share in the debt service coverage account.
The reverse osmosis (RO)-based Rabigh 4 IWP has a production capacity of up to 600,000 cubic metres per day (m3/day). The infrastructure and associated facilities include water tanks with a 1.2 million m3 capacity.
In July 2023, a consortium of Power China, SEPCOIII, and WETICO was awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the Rabigh 4 IWP.
In April 2023, ACWA Power signed a water purchase agreement (WPA) worth SAR 2.54 billion ($677 million) with the state-owned Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) to develop, construct, operate, and own a water desalination plant.
SWPC, the principal off-taker for water and wastewater projects in Saudi Arabia, had named the consortium of ACWA Power, Haji Abdullah Alireza & Company and Al Moayyed Contracting Group as the preferred bidder for its Rabigh 4 IWP in February 2023.
