Mirfa Tops Up Suez IWPP Position

1 Aug 2014
Available with corporate subscription

On 3 July 2014, Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) finalized a 25-year water purchase agreement with GDF Suez for the Mirfa independent water and power producer project (IWPP). The agreement is the final step to close a US$1.5 billion deal that includes the purchase of existing infrastructure at the Mirfa complex, and the financing of additional capacity.

The project will add an additional 1.1GW, 136,380 m3/d of power and desalination capacity, respectively, in a build-own-operate contract. Upon completion the combined Mirfa IWPP complex will encompass 1.6GW of CCGT capacity, and 238,665 m3/d of seawater desalination capacity. ADWEA will own 80% of the entire installation, and GDF Suez will hold the remaining 20%.

Bluefield Takeaways

  • Size of project, tender challenges underscore limited pool of viable IWPP players.
  • Award to GDF Suez cements firm’s position as the UAE’s preferred IWPP provider.
  • GDF Suez increasingly squares off against TAQA, ACWA Power to sustain regional IWPP dominance.