UAE power plant JV may issue project bond in 2016

Emirates SembCorp Water & Power, a joint venture behind the Fujairah 1 independent water and power plant, is considering issuing a project bond, its chairman told Reuters on Monday.

The bond may launch early in 2016 and would be used to refinance debt, Faisal Najed, chairman of Emirates SembCorp Water & Power, said on the sidelines of a conference in Abu Dhabi.

Emirates Sembcorp Water & Power is a joint venture whose ownership split 60/40 between Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) and Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries.

Monopoly utility ADWEA is in talks with banks about issuing a project bond to refinance debt used to construct the plant, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing two sources aware of the matter.

The offering could raise up to $350m and would be classified as a quasi-sovereign issue, as ADWEA is wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, the sources added.

Speaking on Monday, Najed didn’t say the size of the project bond, but said advisers for the deal had not yet been appointed.

The plant is one of the largest operating hybrid desalination plants in the world, with a power capacity of 893 megawatts and a seawater desalination capacity of 100 million imperial gallons, according to the website of Emirates Sembcorp Water & Power.

An expansion to add 30 million imperial gallons per day to the seawater desalination capacity of the facility will be completed by the end of October, said Najed.