ACWA Power Signs $545 Mn Financing Agreement for Rabigh-4 in Western Saudi Arabia

ACWA Power is developing multiple energy and water desalination projects in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
ACWA Power is developing multiple energy and water desalination projects in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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ACWA Power Signs $545 Mn Financing Agreement for Rabigh-4 in Western Saudi Arabia

ACWA Power is developing multiple energy and water desalination projects in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
ACWA Power is developing multiple energy and water desalination projects in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

ACWA Power signed financing and guarantee agreements for Rawabi Water Desalination Company for the Rabigh-4 Independent Water Plant in Yanbu.

Under the agreements, ACWA Power will receive long-term financing worth $545.3 million, according to information released on Sunday.

- Financing alliance

According to a Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) statement, the financing party is represented by a financing alliance consisting of local and international banks, including Standard Chartered, the Saudi National Bank, Riyad Bank, and the Saudi Bank.

- Investment cost

According to the information, the project's total investment cost is $678 million, financed through long-term debt and shareholders' capital.

ACWA Power's share in the project in Rabigh, western Saudi Arabia, is 45 percent.

The Rabigh 4 IWP Project has a 600,000 m3/ day seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant, a PWSF tank of 1,200,000 m3, and a PV capacity of 6.804 MWp.

ACWA Power explained that seawater reverse osmosis is a hot topic in the water treatment industry, with the lowest energy requirements, some of the highest usage rates, and one of the best filtration rates on the market.

- Project award

In July, ACWA Power announced the signing of an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with a consortium of Power China, SEPCOIII, and WETICO for the 600,000 m3/day Rabigh 4 Independent Water Plant (IWP) project.

Financial close for the project is expected during the third quarter of 2023.



Zelenskiy Says he May be Forced to Sign Mineral Agreement with US

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a press conference at the end of the forum 'Ukraine. Year 2025', in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 February 2025, amid the Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a press conference at the end of the forum 'Ukraine. Year 2025', in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 February 2025, amid the Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
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Zelenskiy Says he May be Forced to Sign Mineral Agreement with US

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a press conference at the end of the forum 'Ukraine. Year 2025', in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 February 2025, amid the Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a press conference at the end of the forum 'Ukraine. Year 2025', in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 February 2025, amid the Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday said he may be forced to sign an economic agreement with the United States that would ensure continued aid for Ukraine in return for the US making a profit from minerals in the country.
“If your conditions are, ‘We will not give you aid if you do not sign an agreement,’ then it is clear,” Zelenskiy said during a news conference at a forum of government officials in Kyiv marking the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“If we are forced and we cannot do without it, then we should probably go for it ... I just want a dialogue with President (Donald) Trump."
The Trump administration has pressured Zelenskiy to sign a deal allowing the US access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals as a form of compensation for the assistance the US has provided to Kyiv as it defends against Russia's invasion.
Zelenskiy earlier declined to sign off on an initial US offer, arguing it did not provide Ukraine with the security guarantees it needs to deter Russian attacks.
On Sunday, Zelenskiy said he was open to brokering a deal that would let the US profit from his country's minerals, but the $500 billion sum initially proposed by the Trump administration wasn't acceptable.
"I am not signing something that will be paid off by 10 generations of Ukrainians,” The Associated Press reported.
Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, left the Kyiv forum early on Sunday along with Economic Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko for what Yermak said were talks with US officials on a potential deal.
He said Ukraine’s mineral resources represent “a very important element that can work in the general structure of security guarantees — military guarantees and others.”