Acwa Power secures $545m for Saudi desalination project

Acwa Power

Saudi Arabian energy developer Acwa Power has secured funding of SAR2.045 billion ($545.3 million) for the Rawabi Water Desalination Company (Rabigh 4) independent water plant project in Saudi Arabia.

The funding came from a consortium of local and global banks, including Standard Chartered Bank, Saudi National Bank, Riyadh Bank, The Saudi Investment Bank and Bank of China, Acwa Power said in a statement on the Saudi stock exchange.

The funding – a combination of long-term debt and equity – has a duration of 27.5 years.

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The reverse osmosis water desalination plant has a capacity of up to 600,000 cubic metres per day, including potable water tanks with a capacity of 1.2 million cubic metres.

Commercial operations are expected to start in Q1 2026.

Acwa Power holds a 45 percent equity stake in the SAR2.54 billion ($678 million) water project.

A consortium led by the Saudi company secured financial funding last month worth $2.37 billion for the Al Shuaibah 1 and Al Shuaibah 2 solar photovoltaic projects in the kindgom. The projects are expected to generate over 2.6 GW of clean electricity.

In the same month it secured $123 million funding for a $182 million solar project in Egypt.

The funding was secured from European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Opec Fund for International Development, African Development Bank, Green Climate Fund, Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa and Arab Bank.