ACWA Power, Silk Road Fund complete partnership
ACWA Power, a developer, owner, and operator of power generation and water desalination plants, recently announced the completion of the transaction to introduce Silk Road Fund as a partner and a 49 percent shareholder in ACWA Power Renewable Energy Holding Ltd. (ACWA Power RenewCo).
ACWA Power RenewCo is ACWA Power’s renewable energy platform that currently owns a number of its existing renewable energy projects. The platform capitalizes on the rapidly growing potential for renewable energy in emerging markets and currently owns ACWA Power’s concentrated solar power, photovoltaic solar, and wind assets across the UAE, South
Africa, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco, yielding an aggregate power capacity of 1668 MW.
Paddy Padmanathan, president and CEO of ACWA Power, said: “After announcing the agreement last year, we are very proud and pleased to have completed the transaction today. Our partnership with the Silk Road Fund is testament to the robust relations between Saudi Arabia and China. Our collaboration will enhance ACWA Power’s ambitious growth plans in the renewables sector in MENA, Africa, Asia and Central Asia.”
Rajit Nanda, chief investment officer at ACWA Power, said: “Having the Silk Road Fund as a partner is a strategic step for us in supportAlageel ing the economic transformation envisioned by the Belt and Road initiative as well as Saudi Arabia’s forward-looking Vision 2030. This partnership reaffirms ACWA Power’s strong commitment to contributing to the green development of the regions with its reliable financial stability, cementing the company’s position as an attractive investment partner to stakeholders, locally and globally.”
This is the third successful collaboration between ACWA Power and the Silk Road Fund. Previously, both companies invested in two flagship UAE-based projects: 2,400 MW Hassyan clean coal power plant; and the 950 MW Hybrid CSP and PV fourth phase of MBR Solar Park, which will power 320,000 residential homes.
ACWA Power is currently present in 12 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and South East Asia. Its portfolio includes 59 assets with an investment value of $48 billion, producing 34 GW of power and 5.9 million m3/day of desalinated water delivered on a bulk basis to address the needs of state utilities on long-term, off-taker contracts under public-privatepartnership model.
Established in 2004 in Riyadh, the company is co-owned by nine Saudi conglomerates, including Vision International Investment Company, Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Public Pensions Agency and the International Finance Corporation (a member of the World Bank Group).
ACWA Power’s mission is to reliably deliver electricity and desalinated water at a low cost, thereby contributing effectively to the sustainable, social and economic development of communities and countries.
This is the third successful collaboration between ACWA Power and the Silk Road Fund. Previously, both companies invested in two flagship UAEbased projects.