TAQA-led Consortium Secure $620 Million for Mirfa 2 RO Desalination Project

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA), one of the largest listed integrated utility companies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, alongside ENGIE, a global leader in low-carbon energy solutions, and EWEC (Emirates Water and Electricity Company), a leading company in the integrated coordination of planning, purchasing and supply of water and electricity across the UAE, on Wednesday announced the financial closing of the $620 million low carbon Mirfa 2 Reverse Osmosis (M2 RO) desalination project.

Serving as the third largest RO desalination plant in the UAE, M2 RO will produce 120 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) of water once fully operational, equating to roughly 550,000 cubic metres per day of potable water.

Expected to be operational in Q4 2025, the plant will be owned by TAQA holding a 60% share and ENGIE taking a 40% share. Both companies will also take on the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the plant with ENGIE taking a 60% stake in the O&M company and TAQA taking a 40% stake.  EWEC will procure the water supplied from the plant for 30 years.

The project is primarily funded (78%) through debt financing from both local and international banks, including Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), BNP Paribas Fortis SA/NV, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), The Norinchukin Bank, BNP Paribas (BNPP) and KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH. This follows TAQA and ENGIE signing the water purchase agreement with EWEC in February of this year.

Boost to Decarbonisation

Farid Al Awlaqi, Executive Director of Generation, TAQA, said that his company was proud to invest in the development, ownership, and operation of this critical water project in Abu Dhabi, which will contribute to the UAE’s decarbonisation efforts as well as TAQA’s own emissions reductions targets. “In line with our ESG and growth strategies to expand investment in and deployment of high efficiency RO technology to reach two-thirds of our capacity by 2030, Mirfa 2 RO also enables us to accelerate how we decouple power and water operations across our assets to further reduce our carbon impact. Critically, this project also sees TAQA continuing to expand on its O&M capabilities, which is a core part of our strategic growth ambition for 2030,” he added.

Othman Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer of EWEC, said that Mirfa 2 RO is EWEC’s fifth low-carbon intensive RO desalination project to date and will be the third largest RO plant in the UAE once fully operational.

“Achieving this significant milestone demonstrates EWEC’s leadership in enabling world-class utility-scale projects backed by strong local and international partners that accelerate at pace the UAE’s energy transition, while ensuring a sustainable, affordable, and secure supply of water in line with UAE Water Security Strategy 2036,” Ali said.

He continued: “Creating a pipeline of RO projects that attract investment in the sector is an integral part of EWEC’s strategic initiative to decouple water and power generation, which in turn will enable us to realise the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Strategic Targets 2035 to reduce carbon emissions by up to 75%. Through our initiatives, we forecast that over 90% of our water production will be from RO technology by 2030, resulting in an 88 per cent reduction in carbon emissions associated with water production.”

M2 RO will leverage highly efficient RO desalination, which is up to up to six times more efficient compared to traditional thermal desalination. The technology also enables plant operators to reduce carbon emissions by decoupling of water and power generation processes, thus supporting the wider efforts of the energy sector to cut costs and achieve sustainability targets.

Importantly, the project further positions and supports the UAE’s advancement in more efficient water desalination capabilities, a very important skill as the world faces more threats of water scarcity from climate change, and the project will bring in-country value (ICV) and create jobs for the Mirfa area in the Al Dhafra region.