Abu Dhabi Power (ADPower), an Abu Dhabi state-owned company, and Japan-based Marubeni have formed a consortium to develop the 2.4GW Fujairah F3 independent power producer project (Fujairah F3 IPP project) in the UAE.
Touted to become the largest independent thermal power plant in the country, Fujairah F3 will generate enough electricity to meet the power consumption requirements of about 380,000 households.
The Fujairah F3 IPP project will be a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant which will be built in the Fujairah water and electricity complex in the Emirate of Fujairah.
Marubeni will own 40% stake in the Fujairah F3 power plant, while the remaining 60% stake will be indirectly held by the Abu Dhabi government. The new power plant will come up between the existing Fujairah F1 and Fujairah F2 water and power plants.
Construction on the new thermal power plant is likely to begin shortly to enable Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), a subsidiary of ADPower, to source its early power by summer 2022 and full generation from it by summer 2023.
Through the Fujairah F3 IPP project, ADPower will be expanding its current power generation capacity to 20.4GW.
ADPower CEO and managing director Jasim Husain Thabet said: “Our ambition is to transform Abu Dhabi’s water and electricity sector into a reliable, efficient, sustainable and value-generating system that optimises our robust portfolio of assets and creates unique partnership opportunities.
“The F3 IPP Project represents a significant milestone in this journey, deploying world-class technology and efficiency standards to meet the UAE’s evolving power needs.”
Six bids were received to partner ADPower in the Fujairah F3 IPP project
In early 2019, the Fujairah F3 IPP project attracted 30 expressions of interests from potential bidders. Of these, 20 qualified to bid for the thermal power project after submitting statements of qualification to EWEC.
A total of six bids were received by EWEC and eventually Marubeni was selected to be the partner of ADPower for the Fujairah F3 power project.
EWEC CEO Othman Al Ali said: “The Fujairah F3 IPP project will apply one of the most efficient and advanced CCGT technologies available in the region, producing more energy that aligns with the UAE Energy Strategy 2050’s CO2 emissions reduction targets. It will play a strategic role in the growth and development of the UAE, providing secure and reliable power to match the needs of consumers in Abu Dhabi and the UAE.”
Recently, ADPower proposed to acquire 98.6% stake in Abu Dhabi National Energy (TAQA) in an asset swap deal that values the latter at AED4.15bn ($1.13bn). The Fujairah F3 IPP project will be part of the majority of water and electricity generation, transmission, and distribution assets that ADPower will transfer to TAQA.
