A major financing milestone has been reached for Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra Power Plant, with Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) closing a 3.6 billion dirham ($980 million) package to drive the project forward.
The bulk of the funding—about 85% of the total cost—has been raised through debt, arranged by a wide consortium of regional and international lenders. The group includes Standard Chartered Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Doha Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, ICBC, KfW, National Bank of Kuwait, RAK Bank, Woori Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Boubyan Bank and Ajman Bank.
At the heart of the project is a 1-gigawatt gas turbine power facility, designed to meet the growing electricity demands of data centre developments in the UAE. TAQA will take full control of the venture, building, owning and operating the plant with complete ownership of both the project company and the operations and maintenance arm.
Work at the site is already in progress. The financial close builds on a long-term power purchase agreement signed earlier this year, under which EWEC will buy electricity from the plant for 24 years—providing the revenue certainty needed to underpin the financing and push construction ahead at pace.
