ACWA Power set to take over Oman Investment Authority as co-investor for 1.1GW Suez Wind Energy project in Egypt

The signing was attended by His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy

ACWA Power Company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) to explore bringing the sovereign wealth fund on as an investor for the 1.1GW Suez Wind Energy project in Egypt. The MoU was signed at COP27, the annual conference on climate change funded by the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), being held at Sharm El Sheikh, in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia; His Excellency Salim Al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals of Oman; and His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Arab Republic of Egypt.

The MoU was signed by Mulham Basheer Al Jarf, Acting Deputy President for Investment, OIA, and Paddy Padmanathan, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ACWA Power, in the presence of Mohammad Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power, and other senior officials.

OIA will own up to 10% of the Suez Wind Energy project

In accordance with the terms of the MoU, OIA will evaluate the probability of holding up to 10% of the project, which is valued at US$1.5billion in total. Hassan Allam Holdings, an Egyptian engineering, construction, and infrastructure firm, has a 25% stake in the project, with ACWA Power holding the remaining equity. On completion in 2026, the project will be the largest single contracted wind farm in the Middle East region.

Suez Wind Energy was already a remarkable project because of its ambition and scale – bringing together investors from within the Arab world for this regional project demonstrates that the determination for implementation, the key mission of COP 27, is robust, Mohammad Abunayyan, ACWA Power Chairman said.

The signing of this strategic MoU illustrates the confidence of the investor community in ACWA Power’s expertise and capability to deliver giga-scale projects. As the firm continues to depend on its renewable portfolio in Egypt, it evaluates its continued partnership with Oman Investment Authority as well as Hassan Alam Holdings and believes their partnership and contribution to this noteworthy wind energy project will strongly facilitate the energy diversification objectives of the nation, Abunayyan added.

The US$1.5billion project is expected to be completed by 2026

By 2026, Suez Wind Energy will mitigate the effect of 2.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in a year and supply electricity to 1,080,000 households.

Earlier in May 2022, ACWA Power signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with OQ, an OIA-owned unit. Along with Air Products, the agreement entails the expansion of a multibillion-dollar green hydrogen project in the Sultanate of Oman.

About ACWA Power

In 2002, the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decided to enhance the position the private sector portrayed in the Saudi economy by launching the production of electricity and desalinated water for the private sector to own and manage. Realizing the prospect that this considerable shift in policy offered, Vision Invest (representing the Abunayyan Trading Company and Abdulkadir Al Muhaidib & Sons Co.) alongside the MADA Group for Industrial and Commercial Development (MADA Group) established a joint venture under the name of ACWA Power Projects in the year 2004. The latter was the precursor of present-day ACWA Power, which was founded in 2008.

A developer, investor, and operator of power generation and desalinated water plants with 67 assets in construction, operation, or advanced expansion across 13 countries. The company utilizes over 3900 people with 60% local employment. ACWA Power’s portfolio, with an investment value of more than USD 66.5 billion, can produce 42.7 GW of power and produce 6.2 million m3/day of desalinated water.