A consortium led by ACWA Power, and composed of SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development Company and Saudi Tabreed Cooling Company, has achieved financial close for the US$1.302 billion senior debt facilities for the Red Sea multi-utilities project.

ACWA Power had been appointed by The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) to design, build, operate and transfer The Red Sea Project’s utilities infrastructure.

TRSDC – the developer behind the world’s most ambitious regenerative tourism project, is the procurer of the project – where all the utilities are being procured under a single offtake arrangement, unique for a contract of this kind.

The project includes the provision of renewable power, potable water, wastewater treatment district cooling and solid waste treatment for 16 hotels, an international airport and infrastructure that make up phase one of The Red Sea Project in Saudi Arabia.

The scope of the project also includes construction of three seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plants totaling a capacity of 32,500 cubic meters per day at the project, a waste management centre and an innovative sewage treatment plant (STP).

The senior debt project is financed through a combination of US dollar denominated and Saudi Riyal denominated soft mini-perm and long-term financing provided by a consortium of Saudi Arabian and international banks, including the Al Rajhi Bank, APICORP, Bank Saudi Fransi, Riyad Bank, Saudi British Bank, Saudi National Bank and the Standard Chartered Bank.

The contract was procured as an independent public-private partnership (PPP), intended to cover the design, construction and operation of the systems providing utilities, accompanied by the associated networks and infrastructure.

The Red Sea Project is not investing any of its own capital and is instead committing to purchase its utilities from the consortium for the next 25 years. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns TRSDC, will provide the guarantee for the 25-year offtake agreement.