Taweelah Independent Water Project (IWP) has secured the first-ever ‘sustainable loan’ qualification for a water desalination project globally with Independent assessor Vigeo Eiris confirming that the financial loan is in line with the four components of both t Green Loan and Social bond principles.

This was confirmed in a joint press statement issued by ACWA Power and Natixis, which acted as lead arranger, documentation, hedge provider, global facility agent and sustainable loan coordinator. Natixis also acted as sole arranger and investment agent under the Islamic Equity Bridge Loan for ACWA Power’s equity portion.

ACWA Power is the lead developer and operator of the project and a 40 per cent shareholder of the project. The remaining 60 per cent has been contributed by the Government of Abu Dhabi through Abu Dhabi Power Corporation and Mubadala Development Company PJSC. Emirates Water & Electricity Company (EWEC), a fully-owned entity of the Government of Abu Dhabi and the water & power supplier of the region, is the sole off-taker of the project under a 30-year contract.

Taweelah IWP
Closed in September 2019, this USD($)758 million project finance loan, with a contractual tenor of 32.4 years, will finance what will become the largest reverse osmosis plant in the world when completed in 2022. The project finance loan is dedicated to the financing of the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a state-of-the-art, 200 million imperial gallons per day reserve osmosis plant and associated infrastructure and facilities.

The plant will be constructed in the existing Taweelah complex, in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The project also includes a 68MW peak photovoltaic power plant to complement the energy supply from the procurer’s grid.

The project, the total cost of which is estimated to be AED3.19 billion, when constructed, will also set another world record by utilising the lowest amount of energy per gallon of desalinated water produced.