Abu Dhabi seeks power project bids

Abu Dhabi to invite international companies to bid for its ninth independent water and power project.

Abu Dhabi will be inviting international companies to bid for its ninth independent water and power project (IWPP), the Taweelah C project, by year-end at the latest, a top official said today. Abdulla Saif al-Nuami, the director of privatisation at the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea), said the request for proposals will be issued soon after the refinancing for its eighth IWPP Shuweihat 2 is closed.

"It will be after summer, certainly before the year end. It could be October or November this year," he said. The Taweelah C project will have capacity of at least 1500 MW of power and 100 million gallons a day of water, he said. Germany's Fitchner is technical adviser and HSBC will act as financial adviser for the project. Al Nuami said refinancing for the Shuweihat 2 project is moving ahead with several banks expressing interest. The project is owned 60 per cent by Adwea and 20 per cent each by GDF Suez GSZ.PA and Marubeni Corporation.

"There is good response from banks and we expect to close the financing by October," he added. Abu Dhabi expects power demand to more than triple by 2020 and the Government is considering nuclear power plants as a long-term option to meet demand. In the short-term, power demand growth in Abu Dhabi was expected at about 17 to 20 per cent a year. Longer-term power demand growth should average out at about 7 to 8 per cent a year through 2030, Adwea said in March.