Emirates SembCorp Water and Power – the joint venture, behind the Fujairah 1 independent water and power plant - is considering issuing a project bond to refinance its debt.
Speaking to news agency, Reuters, chairman of Emirates SembCorp, Faisal Najed, said the bond could launch early in 2016. He did not indicate the value of the project bond, and he said advisers for the deal had not yet been appointed. An expansion to add 150 Ml/d to the plant’s desalination capacity is scheduled for completion by the end of October, said Najed.
According to Reuters’ unnamed sources, the bo could raise up to US$ 350 million. It would be classified as a quasi-sovereign issue because 60% stakeholder in the joint venture, the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) is wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi. The rest of the venture is owned by Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries.
State utility, ADWEA, was negotiating with banks about issuing a project bond to refinance debt used to construct the plant, Reuters said.
The plant is one of the largest operating hybrid desalination plants in the world, with a power capacity of 893 MW and a seawater desalination capacity of 500 Ml/d according to Emirates Sembcorp.