Acwa Power has closed a US$580 million refinancing deal for the Al Dur Phase 2 independent water and power project (IWPP) in Bahrain.

The Saudi listed firm owns 60% of the project company, Haya Power & Desalination Company. Mitsui has a 30% holding, and the Bahraini Almoayyed Contracting Group holds the remaining 10% stake.

Banks participating in the refinancing include Standard Chartered, KfW Ipex-Bank, National Bank of Bahrain, Gulf International Bank (Bahrain), Ahli United Bank (Bahrain), Riyad Bank, Apicorp, Al Rajhi Bank, Arab National Bank, and Banque Saudi Fransi. Acwa Power acted as the sole financial adviser to the Al Dur Phase II IWPP project company.

The Al Dur 2 IWPP reached financial close in 2019, and began commercial operation in June 2022. A consortium of Chinese construction and engineering company Sepco3, state-owned Chinese construction firm Power China and Sidem of France was the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.

The project, which cost around US$1 billion, uses seawater reverse osmosis technology. The facility has 500 megawatts of combined cycle generation capacity and 50 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) of water processing capacity.

"The Al Dur Phase II IWPP demonstrates Bahrain’s dedication to sustainable infrastructure development and not only meets the growing demand for electricity and desalinated water but also contributes significantly to the economic and social development of the region," says Thomas Brostrom, Acwa Power’s chief business development and investment officer. 

Acwa Power's portfolio comprises 81 projects in operation, advanced development, or construction with an investment value of US$84.7 billion, and 55.1 gigawatts of power generation capacity.

The company also manages 7.64 million cubic metres of desalinated water per day, delivered on a bulk basis, to address the needs of state utilities and industries on long-term, off-taker contracts under utility services outsourcing and public-private partnership models.