ACWA Power to bid for $4.5 bln projects in Saudi Arabia

Riyadh-based ACWA Power expects to submit tenders for projects worth $4.5 billion in Saudi Arabia this year, company chief executive officer Paddy Padmanathan told Reuters on Sunday.

“We are expecting to see a lot of projects here in Saudi. We are targeting 50 to 60 percent of the total,” he said.

The company will bid for a 400 MW wind plant in March, and as well as the Rabigh 3 desalination plant, which will have a capacity of 600,000 cubic meters and is expected to cost between $800 million and $900 million.

Other projects likely to be tendered by year-end or early next year are a cogeneration plant for the Marjan oilfield and the Tanajib seawater plant for Saudi Aramco.

Padmanathan said the company also expects to participate in tenders for around $2.5 billion worth of projects in Morocco and $3.5 billion of projects in the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, the CEO noted the company has shortlisted banks for its initial public offering (IPO), but declined to give the names of the lenders or timeframe for the floatation.

ACWA Power is looking to sell a 30 percent stake to public and list in Riyadh by the end of the year, Reuters had reported earlier.