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Acwa Power acquires Bahrain assets from Engie

15 December 2025

Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power has completed the acquisition of gas-fired power generation and water desalination assets in Bahrain from France’s Engie.

The completed Bahrain acquisition was announced on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul). It comprises 45% stakes in both the Al-Ezzel independent power project (IPP) and Al-Dur independent water and power project (IWPP), and a 30% stake in the Al-Hidd IWPP.

The 1,220MW Al-Dur and 930MW Al-Hidd plants include seawater reverse osmosis and multi-stage flash desalination facilities, respectively. The Al-Ezzel IPP has a power generation capacity of 940MW.

The transaction also includes the acquisition of Bahrain's Al-Ezzel O&M Company, giving Acwa Power full ownership of the plant’s operations and maintenance platform.

The sale forms part of a wider transaction covering assets in Bahrain and Kuwait. In the stock exchange filing, Acwa Power said the Kuwait portion will be finalised once "customary technical conditions" are met. 

This comprises an 18% stake in the Al-Zour North IWPP. The facility includes a 1,520MW combined-cycle gas-fired power plant and a 486,000-cubic-metre-a-day desalination plant.

Acwa Power is also acquiring a 50% stake in Kuwait's Al-Zour North O&M Company.

Across Bahrain and Kuwait, the assets being acquired have a combined gas-fired power generation capacity of about 4.6GW and total desalination capacity of around 1.1 million cubic metres a day, according to the company.

Engie recently told MEED that the sale is part of plans to phase out conventional assets and shift towards renewables projects.

The transaction was signed in February under a share purchase agreement with Kahrabel, a subsidiary of Engie, and is valued at SR2.6bn ($693m). It is being financed through a mix of Acwa Power’s own funds and external financing.

READ THE DECEMBER 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

Prospects widen as Middle East rail projects are delivered; India’s L&T storms up MEED’s EPC contractor ranking; Manama balances growth with fiscal challenges

Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the December 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

> BAHRAIN MARKET FOCUS: Manama pursues reform amid strain
To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
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Mark Dowdall

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