ACWA Power secures $100m credit facility from Chinese bank to scale up operations

RIYADH: In an effort to boost its operations, Saudi energy firm ACWA Power secured $100 million in a revolving credit facility from China Construction Bank.
Engaged in collaboration with the Chinese bank since 2016, ACWA Power signed the three-year revolver agreement to scale up its power generation and water desalination portfolio in the Middle East, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
“The revolving credit facility by China Construction Bank is an outcome of the ongoing collaboration between ACWA Power and Chinese entities, boosting our near-term liquidity and funding flexibility as we pursue strategic growth opportunities,” said Abdulhameed Al-Muhaidib, the chief financial officer of ACWA Power. 
The new revolving facility provides the energy behemoth with additional financing options, enhancing its ability to develop sustainable utility infrastructure in other regions. 
The move further strengthens ACWA Power’s commitment to delivering low-carbon solutions and supporting the transition to clean energy. 
The agreement also aims to boost the company’s social and economic development operations in the communities it serves. 
“Most importantly, it goes to show the confidence that financiers have in our business performance and in our ability to deliver large-scale projects of transformative social and economic value,” said Al-Muhaidib.  
Yuan Shengrui, a senior executive of China Construction Bank at the Dubai International Financial Centre branch, said: “The credit facility is reflective of the branch’s interest to strengthen its strategic partnership with ACWA Power and to promote the development of renewable energy projects in line with the directives of the Belt and Road Initiative.”
Both parties have collaborated in the UAE’s 2,400 megawatts Hassyan power plant, a project jointly developed by a consortium of China’s Harbin Electric International and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.
Moreover, the 485 MW Zarqa gas power plant in Jordan and the 1,500 MW Sirdarya combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Uzbekistan were also a result of a collaboration between the two parties. 
Chinese financiers have also been instrumental in backing ACWA Power’s global project portfolio, with a total investment of $10 billion since 2009, according to a company release. 
Chinese engineering, procurement and construction contractors, suppliers and financiers have also played a crucial role in 47 ACWA Power projects, including significant renewable energy and seawater desalination initiatives worldwide. 
ACWA Power’s portfolio comprises 77 projects in operation, advanced development, or construction with an investment value of SR293 billion ($78.2 billion) and the capacity to generate 50.4 gigawatts of power and manage 6.8 million cubic meters per day of desalinated water.