meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

AI accelerates UAE power generation projects sector

10 April 2025

 

On 3 April, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) confirmed for the first time the UAE capital’s energy infrastructure plans to support its artificial intelligence (AI) and net-zero strategies.

The programme will require an investment of AED36bn ($9.8bn), comprising the round-the-clock 5.2GW solar plus 19 gigawatt-hour battery energy storage system (bess) plants announced in January; a 1GW open-cycle gas turbine plant in Dhafra, which Taqa will own, finance and operate; and advanced grid infrastructure.

This development followed several months of speculations concerning the UAE capital’s plans for a power generation portfolio and infrastructure projects supporting its AI strategy.

It came on the heels of the Abu Dhabi government announcing plans to embark on a three-year digital strategy, requiring the deployment of AED13bn in investment, to make it the “first government globally” to fully integrate AI into its digital services by 2027.

The Abu Dhabi Digital 2025-27 Strategy aims to 100% adopt sovereign cloud computing for government operations and digitise and automate 100% of processes “to streamline procedures, enhance productivity and improve operational efficiency”.

“One thing that strikes me about this Ewec and Taqa announcement is the question of how much of a model it can be for enabling solar with additional gas power, which should be what happens in other countries like in the US,” Karen Young, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Centre on Global Energy Policy, tells MEED.

Young acknowledges that the ability to scale up with state-owned assets and offtake agreements gives the UAE a capacity that other markets will find difficult to replicate.

“It is certainly an advantage and one reason why the UAE is ahead of other regional markets, including Saudi Arabia, but also on a global scale,” she explains.

Staging an aggressive and energy-intensive AI programme while complying with its net-zero aspirations will keep the UAE’s utility stakeholders on their toes over the coming few years.

Robust capacity buildout

In addition to these three major project blocks, separate thermal, renewable energy and battery energy storage projects are in various construction and procurement stages in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Somewhat ironically and similar to Saudi Arabia, the UAE’s main utility stakeholders have stepped into what could be their busiest year in terms of capacity buildout, in order to meet their mid-term 2030 energy diversification targets while supporting the government’s industrial and economic expansion programmes.

According to MEED Projects data, the UAE power sector let an estimated $5.2bn-worth of contracts in 2024, up 70% from the previous full year.

Last year, the UAE awarded four generation contracts representing the full spectrum of fuel, except nuclear. These were the 1.5GW Al-Ajban solar independent power project (IPP), the Dhafra waste-to-energy project, the Ruwais cogeneration and utility package in Abu Dhabi, and the contract to complete the third phase of the Jebel Ali K power station in Dubai.

Expectations that Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) will sign the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the estimated $6bn round-the-clock solar plus battery facility this year, in addition to the 1GW Dhafra open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) project, for which a contract was already awarded in April, guarantee that contract awards in the UAE’s power projects sector will further accelerate.

Upcoming projects

According to MEED Projects data, as of early April, an estimated $7.2bn-worth of generation and $1bn of transmission and distribution contracts were in the bid and bid evaluation stages across the UAE.

These include six major generation projects in Abu Dhabi that are expected to be awarded this year. These are the 2.5GW Taweelah C combined-cycle gas turbine scheme, Madinat Zayed OCGT IPP, Al-Khazna and Al-Zarraf solar photovoltaic (PV), Al-Sila wind and Bess 1.

The prequalification proceedings are under way for generation projects worth $7.2bn and transmission projects worth $180m.

The 3.3GW Al-Nouf combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) scheme in Abu Dhabi and phase seven of Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Solar Park are the main projects in the prequalification stage.

Last year, there were indications that Abu Dhabi could start initiating the procurement process for the next phase of the Barakah nuclear power plant this year. However, more recent developments indicate that this process could be delayed by a year or two, depending on multiple factors, including demand growth and costs.

Including the next phase of Barakah in the upcoming projects pipeline takes the estimated total value of planned and unawarded generation projects in the UAE to roughly $47bn.

Battery

The deployment of substantial battery energy storage capacity is crucial in ensuring grid flexibility as the UAE’s electricity grids take on an increasing amount of renewable power.

Ewec received two bids for the contract to develop Bess 1, which will be built in two locations with a total capacity of 400MW.

The project will closely follow Abu Dhabi’s IPP model, in which developers enter into a long-term energy storage agreement with Ewec as the sole procurer.

The first plant will be in Al-Bihouth, about 45 kilometres (km) southwest of Abu Dhabi, and the second plant will be in Madinat Zayed, about 160km southwest of the city.

According to industry sources, the companies that submitted bids for the contract in March include:

  • EDF Renewables (France)
  • Engie (France) / Saudi Electricity Company (SEC, Saudi Arabia) / Hajj Abdullah Alireza Company (Haaco, Saudi Arabia)
  • Jinko Power (China) / Alghanim International (Kuwait)

In Dubai, the prequalification process is under way for the seventh phase of the MBR Solar Park, which will include a solar PV plant with a capacity of 1.6GW and a 1GW bess plant intended to produce six hours of storage capacity.

The $6bn round-the-clock solar plus bess project in Abu Dhabi boasts 19GWh of battery storage capacity, which is envisaged to enable renewable power to be dispatched similar to a baseload capacity, which gas or nuclear plants typically supply.

Fittingly, the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan Al-Jaber described the project as Abu Dhabi’s response to the “moonshot challenge of our time”, which is the intermittency of renewables.

Masdar has already selected the preferred EPC, solar PV and battery technology subcontractors for the project.

India’s Larsen & Toubro and Beijing-headquartered PowerChina will undertake the project’s EPC contracts, while Shanghai-based Jinko Solar and Beijing-headquartered JA Solar will supply solar PV modules. 

Another Chinese firm, Fujian-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Company), will supply its Tener product line for the bess plant.

The project will be structured as a classic public-private partnership (PPP), funded by equity and syndicated debt.

It is being deployed on a fast-track basis, with financial close expected by the second quarter of this year and commercial operations set for 2027.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/13655568/main.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Joint venture tenders Algeria field development contract

    10 June 2026

     

    Hassi Bir Rekaiz Group (GHBR), which operates Algeria’s Hassi Bir Rekaiz field, has issued a tender for phase 2A of the asset’s field development project.

    GHBR is a joint venture of Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach and Thailand’s national exploration and production company PTTEP.

    The scope of the contract focuses on the “provision of engineering and supervision services”, according to documents published by Sonatrach.

    The tender has been issued with a bid deadline of 16 June 2026.

    In May, GHBR signed a $1.1bn contract for phase two of the Hassi Bir Rekaiz development project.

    The contract was won by a consortium of Egypt’s Petrojet and Italian engineering and contracting company Arkad.

    Petrojet’s portion of the project was estimated to be worth around $600m, and Arkad’s portion was estimated to be worth $500m.

    The contract used the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning model.

    The scope of the project contract is focused on the construction of a central processing facility (CPF) capable of processing crude oil and associated gas.

    It also includes developing off-plot pipelines, as well as related utilities and infrastructure.

    The CPF will have the capacity to process 32,000 barrels a day (b/d) and will be designed to support future expansions.

    The related infrastructure will include an extensive pipeline network spanning approximately 217 kilometres, as well as a road network.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17163750/main3325.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Algeria extends deadline for urea-formaldehyde project

    10 June 2026

     

    Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach has extended the bid deadline for a project to develop a new concentrated urea-formaldehyde unit in its Arzew industrial zone.

    The latest bid deadline is 15 June.  

    The contract uses the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning model, and the bid deadline for technical tender submissions was originally set for early April.

    The condensed urea-formaldehyde unit will be located at the CP1-Z facility.

    The CP1-Z facility began operations in 1975 and has a capacity of 152,000 tonnes a year. It produces products including methanol, resin and formol.

    It is a two-phase tender. The first phase is a technical bid submission, and the second phase is a commercial bid submission.

    To be eligible to win this contract, companies must specialise in petrochemical industrial installation projects.

    They also need to have a share capital of at least $7m and more than 15 years of relevant experience.

    The new unit, UFC85, will have the capacity to produce 40,000 metric tonnes of concentrated and condensed urea-formaldehyde annually.

    The project’s scope also includes the development of auxiliary equipment and installations.

    Urea-formaldehyde has a wide range of uses, including the production of laminates, textiles and paper.

    In the wood industry, it is used as a thermosetting adhesive to bond wood to create plywood and particleboard. In agriculture, urea-formaldehyde is widely used as a slow-release fertiliser.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17163657/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Sharjah developer launches Al-Mamzar towers scheme

    9 June 2026

    Local real estate developer Alef Group has launched a mixed-use development in the Al-Mamzar area of Sharjah. The Linar project is valued at AED4bn ($1.1bn) and comprises five residential towers and one commercial tower. Across the development, the 50- to 55-floor towers will offer a total of 2,620 residential units.

    With 325 metres of sea-facing frontage overlooking Al-Mamzar Beach, the development also includes retail and service spaces. Tower A, which forms part of Phase 1 of the project, is expected to be completed from 2030 onwards. 

    In a statement, the developer said that following strong demand for expressions of interest (EoIs) in Tower A, Alef Group expanded EoIs to include towers B and C. All Phase 1 EoIs have now been fully reserved, representing a total of 1,572 residential units with a combined value of over AED2bn. The group is preparing to open EoIs for towers D and E.

    In April, Alef Group awarded Abu Dhabi-based construction firm A&M International a AED750m contract to build the next phases of its Hayyan residential community in Sharjah. The scope includes the construction of more than 700 villas and townhouses across three clusters – Samr 1, Samr 2 and Deem – along with Hayyan Mall, a clubhouse and associated infrastructure works.

    The Hayyan masterplan includes seven residential clusters: Alma, Arim 1, Arim 2, Arim 3, Samr 1, Samr 2 and Samr 3.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17157150/main1720.jpg
    Colin Foreman
  • Record investment drives Jordan’s utilities market

    9 June 2026

     

    In April, Jordan signed the final technical and legal agreement for its landmark National Water Carrier Project, paving the way for the financial close of the kingdom’s largest planned water infrastructure project to date.

    The agreement represents a significant step forward for the scheme, which is now projected to reach $5.6bn in total costs, including financing, up from earlier estimates of $3.5bn.

    Paris-based investment and utility firms Meridiam and Suez were awarded the contract last year to develop the project in partnership with Jordan’s Water & Irrigation Ministry.

    Since then, multiple large-scale financing agreements have been put in place for the project, which is expected to supply about 40% of Jordan’s drinking water needs.

    While new contract awards have been limited in 2026, the successful execution of the Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance scheme will help reassure the market that large-scale infrastructure projects of this nature can move forward.

    The project is set to reduce the benchmark water cost from about $3 a cubic metre in 2024 to approximately $2.7 and is crucial to addressing Jordan’s severe water scarcity.

    Prime Minister Jafar Hassan recently said that the scheme, along with the Aqaba Port railway project, represented “the largest level of foreign investment in the kingdom’s history”.

    For its part, the government has said it will contribute $722m to the Aqaba-Amman project, representing the largest single capital expenditure in the state budget.

    Upcoming projects

    Looking forward, there is a healthier pipeline of new water projects, led by a two-phased wastewater treatment project at Wadi Zarqa.

    The first phase will have an initial capacity to treat 150,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) of wastewater by 2030.

    The $150m second phase covers an independent sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 200,000 cm/d. Both tenders are expected to be released in the coming months.

    Two larger projects, valued at $300m each, are currently in the planning stages. Both are managed by Yarmouk Water Company and involve major transmission pipeline works in Ajloun and Irbid as part of the Jordan Water Sector Efficiency Project.

    The Jordan Water Sector Efficiency Project is a World Bank-backed programme aimed at reducing water losses, improving utility performance and enhancing the efficiency of water services across the kingdom.

    Power contracts

    Jordan’s power sector is set for a record-breaking year following the announcement that a $900m combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant will be developed in partnership with Etihad Development Company, a subsidiary of the UAE’s Etihad Water & Electricity (EtihadWE).

    The project will be developed under a build-own-operate model with Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (Nepco) purchasing electricity under a 25-year power-purchase agreement.

    For context, Jordan’s power sector saw just $33m in total contract awards in 2025, according to MEED Projects.

    The full-year total last exceeded $100m in 2022, when there were $111m of contract awards. The plant is expected to meet about 10% of Jordan’s electricity demand once operational.

    The kingdom has also been looking at other forms of power generation, such as Jordan’s first 450MW pumped hydroelectric energy storage project near Al-Mujib Dam.

    Earlier this year, US-headquartered K&M Advisors and France’s Artelia were appointed as transaction advisers to carry out the final feasibility study for the project, which is expected to be tendered in the third quarter of 2026.

    The Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources (MEMR) is also planning to undertake the construction of a 1,000MW wind power plant and battery energy storage system near the Port of Aqaba in Jordan.

    The renewable energy scheme could potentially support the kingdom’s emerging green hydrogen industry, including a separate planned $1bn green ammonia and hydrogen project in Aqaba.

    In May, the project became the first publicly announced green ammonia project in Jordan to receive development approval from the Council of Ministers.

    The project would be developed by Jordan Green Ammonia, a special-purpose vehicle funded by the UAE-based 7Fidelity Group and Poland’s Hynfra.

    The project in Aqaba is expected to produce 100,000 tonnes a year of green ammonia from 2030

    Of approximately $6bn-worth of power projects in the pre-execution phase, it is worth noting that about $4.4bn are still in the early study or feed stages.

    Near-term awards are likely to come from several smaller substation and power generation schemes.

    Jordan-Syria power link

    Among the wider pipeline of regional opportunities, Jordan’s power sector could also benefit from efforts to restore electricity connectivity with neighbouring Syria.

    Syria’s Public Establishment for Transmission & Distribution of Electricity recently tendered a contract to repair the 400kV high-voltage interconnector transmission lines between the two countries.

    The works form part of Syria’s $146m Electricity Emergency Project, which is being financed through a World Bank grant and aims to restore critical electricity infrastructure across the country.

    The rehabilitation of the Syria-Jordan interconnector is expected to enable the import of up to 600MW of electricity and represents one of several initiatives under way to rebuild Syria’s power network following years of conflict and underinvestment.

    More broadly, Syria is emerging as an active power market in its own right. In April, Germany’s Siemens Energy signed manufacturing agreements for major power plant projects being developed by a consortium led by Qatar’s UCC Holding.

    The contracts cover combined-cycle power packages for the Zayzoun and Deir Azzour power plant projects, announced last year as part of a $7bn memorandum of understanding between the consortium and Syria’s Ministry of Energy.

    The May 2025 agreements include four combined-cycle gas turbine power plants in Traifawi, Homs and Zayzoun, Deir-Azzour and Mehardeh in Hama with an installed capacity of 4GW.

    Additionally, a 1GW solar power plant will be developed in Wedian Al-Rabee in Syria’s southern region.

    Most of these projects, awarded under concession agreements following a strategic memorandum of understanding framework, are due to come online in 2029.

    After years of inactivity, this is considerable progress. The next step is attracting sufficient interest in new and upcoming tenders. This will signal whether international contractors are ready to re-engage with the country’s power sector.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17157016/main.gif
    Mark Dowdall
  • PIF-owned Ardara tenders Al-Wadi sewer package

    9 June 2026

     

    Ardara, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has issued a tender for the trunk sewer diversion and associated works package at its Al-Wadi development in Abha in Saudi Arabia’s Asir region.

    The scope includes the construction of rainwater and flood drainage networks, roads and transport infrastructure, and associated works within the wider Al-Wadi project.

    The bid submission deadline is 15 June.

    The sewer diversion package, valued at about $20m, is part of Ardara’s wider Al-Wadi development in Abha. The company, launched by PIF in 2023, is developing the 2.5-square-kilometre Al-Wadi destination in Abha as a mixed-use tourism and lifestyle development. The project will include residential, hospitality, commercial and recreational assets. 

    As MEED understands, the sewer diversion works are expected to facilitate the development of future phases of the Al-Wadi project by relocating existing wastewater infrastructure within the site.

    The tender follows demolition works completed on the site last year.

    Previously, in 2024, US-based Parsons was appointed to provide project management and supervision services for the project.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17156098/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall