Financial close reached on 3.6GW of gas plants in Saudi Arabia

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA), JERA and AlBawani Capital have announced the successful financial closing of two greenfield gas power plants in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The projects are Rihab ElAwal Power Company (Rumah 2) and Nawras Power Company (Al Nairyah 2).

Together, the greenfield combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants will deliver approximately 3.6GW of power generation capacity.

This milestone was achieved following the signing of two 25-year Power Purchase Agreements between the three partners.

The projects are being developed on a build, own and operate basis and will support the Kingdom’s growing energy need.

Combined, the plants represent an investment of around $4 billion. Financing was secured from a consortium of leading regional and international lenders through senior debt and equity bridge loans.

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Construction will be undertaken through special purpose entities owned by TAQA (49%), JERA (31%) and AlBawani (20%). Operation and maintenance (O&M) will be carried out by dedicated O&M companies owned by the consortium under the same shareholding structure.

Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contracts were awarded to Harbin Electric International Co. Ltd and China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co. Ltd.

Both plants will deploy highly efficient state-of-the-art, CCGT technology and are designed for future carbon capture integration.

The consortium selected Siemens Energy as the Original Equipment Manufacturer for the projects, with whom the O&M companies have entered into Long Term Service Agreements.

Farid Al Awlaqi, chief executive officer, TAQA’s Generation business, said: “We are proud to have reached financial close, an important milestone in the progress of the projects...Notably, the construction of both plants is well underway with the early works phase concluding recently. We are developing the plants to be built for the future utilising the highest efficiency CCGT turbines, which demonstrates our firm commitment to growth and decarbonisation.”

Steven Winn, chief global strategist, JERA, said: “The projects will strengthen JERA's presence and contribution to the Kingdom in securing a reliable and sustainable energy supply. The projects shall have decarbonisation provision in line with JERA’s goal of achieving net-zero by 2050. We congratulate all stakeholders on achieving this major milestone.”

Eng. Fakher AlShawaf, group chief executive officer of AlBawani Holding, added: “Achieving financial close marks a significant milestone in AlBawani’s ongoing commitment to supporting the Kingdom’s energy transition, in alignment with the ambitious goals of Vision 2030, and in partnership with TAQA and JERA. These strategic projects will deliver reliable, sustainable energy solutions and contribute meaningfully to Saudi Arabia’s long-term growth and prosperity.”