Acciona, the Spanish conglomerate, together with its local partners Tawzea and Tamasuk, has closed green loans totaling $480 million for three independent sewage treatment plants (ISTPs) in Saudi Arabia.
These new water treatment contracts have been awarded by the state-owned Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC).
With the financial close of these projects, Acciona said that for the first time in its water projects, the company is structuring not only a green loan but also Islamic financing.
The financing syndicate for Madinah-3, Buraydah-2 and Tabuk-2 includes local, regional, and international lenders.
The financing structure incorporates an Islamic tranche for 60 percent of the value of the loans structured as an Ijara facility, or Islamic leasing.
The move comes as investors and financial institutions are increasingly allocating capital to green infrastructure projects such as water treatment plants.
The three ISTPs will treat the wastewater of up to two million residents and contribute to national efforts to conserve and reuse water, in accordance with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
Vision 2030 places a particular focus on optimising the use of renewable water resources for agriculture purposes, and improving the efficiency of municipal and agricultural water consumption.
Key environmental features of the ISTP projects include the recycling of wastewater for agricultural activities, the treatment and reuse of sewage sludge for agricultural use as fertilizer and cement manufacturing and the use of renewable electricity to power the wastewater treatment plants.
Once completed, Madinah 3 will serve up to 1.5 million people, Buraydah 2 will serve up to 600,000 people and Tabuk 2 will serve up to 350,000 people.
Acciona recorded sales of €8.1 billion in 2021 and has a business presence in more than 60 countries.
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