Funding secured for $3bn power plant in Mecca

Acwa Power and Saudi Energy, co-developers of a gas-fired power plant in the Mecca region, have secured funding to expand the project.

The two Saudi-listed companies secured SAR9.7 billion ($2.6 billion) from a consortium of 14 regional and international banks to finance the 2.3-gigawatt (GW) Rabigh 2 expansion, according to a statement to the Saudi stock market.

The consortium included four lenders from Saudi Arabia, two from the UAE, one from Kuwait, three from China, and one each from the UK, Cyprus, Taiwan and Japan. The 34-year loan’s terms were not disclosed.

Acwa and Saudi Energy each own 40 percent of the project. The Public Investment Fund owns 44 percent of Acwa.

In April, Acwa signed a contract worth nearly SAR12 billion to expand the gas-fired plant, including provisions for a carbon capture unit.

Further reading:

• Acwa starts generating electricity at two Saudi plants
• Red Sea Global fully powered by Acwa renewables
• Acwa to build $400m water project in Indonesia

This month, Acwa started generating electricity from two major gas-fired power plants under construction.

Acwa has 32 projects under development, with a combined power-generation capacity of 47GW and water desalination capacity of 2 million cubic metres per day.

Acwa’s shares closed 1.5 percent higher on Sunday at SAR166, but are down nearly 10 percent so far this year.

Saudi Energy shares closed 0.6 percent higher at SAR15.56, up more than 7 percent year to date.

The largest economy among the Arab states aims to meet 50 percent of its domestic electricity demand with green energy by 2030 and reach net zero by 2060.