Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), ENGIE, and Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) concluded the financial closing of the low carbon desalination project at a value of AED 2.30 billion ($620 million).
The Mirfa 2 Reverse Osmosis project is initially funded through debt financing from local as well as international banks, including Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), BNP Paribas Fortis SA/NV, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC).
The Norinchukin Bank, BNP Paribas (BNPP), and KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH also participated in the transaction, according to a press release.
Meanwhile, the joint project is expected to commence operating during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025. Then, it will produce 120 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) of water, equivalent to nearly 550,000 cubic metres of potable water on a daily basis.
TAQA holds a 60% stake in the plant, while ENGIE, which will procure the water supplied from the plant for 30 years, owns the remaining 40% equity ownership.
Being the third largest RO desalination plant in the UAE, the project anchors the country’s objectives in boosting water desalination capabilities. It will also bring in-country value (ICV) and provide jobs for the Mirfa area in the Al Dhafra region.
Farid Al Awlaqi, Executive Director of Generation at TAQA, highlighted that the plant aligns with their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and growth strategies to expand investment in and deployment of high-efficiency RO technology and reach two-thirds of their capacity by 2030.
Al Awlaqi noted: “Mirfa 2 RO also enables us to accelerate how we decouple power and water operations across our assets to further reduce our carbon impact.”
Othman Al Ali, CEO of EWEC, said: “Creating a pipeline of RO projects that attract investment in the sector is an integral part of EWEC’s strategic initiative to decouple water and power generation, which in turn will enable us to realise the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Strategic Targets 2035 to reduce carbon emissions by up to 75%.”
“Through our initiatives, we forecast that over 90% of our water production will be from RO technology by 2030, resulting in an 88% reduction in carbon emissions associated with water production,” he added.
In the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, TAQA logged net profits attributable to the shareholders valued at AED 11.57 billion, compared to AED 1.97 billion in Q1-22.
