Riyadh – Mubasher: The Red Sea Development Company has awarded its highest-value contract to date to a consortium led by ACWA Power to design, build, operate, and transfer The Red Sea Project’s utilities infrastructure.
The contract was procured as an independent public-private partnership (PPP), establishing The Red Sea Project as the region’s first tourism destination powered solely by renewable energy, according to a press release on Monday.
“With the largest battery storage facility in the world in place, we can guarantee that the development is 100% powered by renewable energy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, an accomplishment which has never been achieved on a project of this scale before,” said CEO of The Red Sea Development, John Pagano.
Work in The Red Sea Project remains on track to welcome the first guests by the end of 2022. The remaining 12 hotels scheduled for completion in Phase One will open in 2023.
Upon completion in 2030, there will be 50 hotels, offering up to 8,000 hotel rooms and around 1,300 residential properties across 22 islands and six inland sites.
“As the world seeks to satisfy the rising demand for affordable power and water, ACWA Power remains committed to being at the forefront of the energy transition and providing transformative solutions," remarked Chairman of ACWA Power, Mohammad Abunayyan.
The PPP agreement expects to generate up to 650,000 MWh of 100% renewable energy to supply the destination and other utility systems, whilst emitting zero CO2.
Energy will be generated via solar panels and wind turbines to meet an initial demand of 210MW.
The Red Sea Project is not investing any of its own capital and is instead committing to buy its utilities from the consortium for the next 25 years.
The ACWA Power consortium is financed by Saudi and international banks, including the UK’s Standard Chartered Bank and China’s Silk Road Fund, and marks a new stage for the development, in terms of securing external investment.
