Fin close reached on USD-1.5bn energy hub for Saudi luxury resort

A group led by electric utility EDF and clean energy company Masdar has reached a financial close on a USD-1.5-billion (EUR 1.37bn) multi-utilities infrastructure facility for the Amaala luxury resort in Saudi Arabia which will be powered entirely by renewable energy.

The financial close was achieved with support from local and global financial institutions including First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), Emirates NBD, Riyad Bank, Saudi National Bank (SNB) and Alinma Bank, a press statement says.

The new energy facility will comprise a 250-MW solar farm backed by a 700-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), transmission and distribution lines as well as a desalination plant with a capacity of 37 million litres of drinking water per day. In addition, there will be wastewater treatment facilities.

Once completed, the facility will save 350,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually. Among the contractors selected for the project are Chinese PV inverter and battery storage firm Sungrow Power Supply Co Ltd and India-based engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro.

The financial close on the multi-utilities infrastructure facility follows the awarding of a 25-year multi-utility concession agreement in September 2023.

The EDF and Masdar-led consortium behind the project also comprises Korea East-West Power Co (EWP) and Suez.

The Amaala project, developed by Red Sea Global, will be built on Saudi Arabia's northwestern Red Sea coast. The first phase of the project is set to welcome its first guests in 2025. Upon completion, the resort will feature over 4,000 hotel rooms across 30 hotels, and 1,200 high-end residential villas, apartments and estate homes.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.919)

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