Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), the utility company mandated to ensure water and power supply to consumers in Abu Dhabi and other emirates, has two key power projects in the pipeline that would generate around 4GW of additional power at a cost of AED 4.4 billion ($1.2 billion), the company’s chief executive officer said.

Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of the 24th World Energy Congress held in Abu Dhabi, Othman Al Ali said that one the two projects, ‘Fujairah Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) F3’, aims to develop a 2,000-2,400 MW (2-2.4 GW) natural gas power plant in Fujairah. The bids for the project are expected to be received by October 2019.

“The target commercial operation date of the Fujairah project is April 2023,” he said.

The second project in the pipeline is a solar photovoltaic power (PV) plant, with a maximum production capacity of 1,500 MW, located in Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi.

“The bids are expected to be received by the end of October 2019. The target commercial operation date of the project is February 2022,” the CEO said.

“The total cost of these two projects is AED 4.4 billion, of which AED 2 billion is the cost of the solar PV project in Al Dhafra, and AED 2.4 billion the cost of the CCGT plant,” he added.

The CEO said that both projects are IPP (Independent Power Producer) joint investments between the government of Abu Dhabi and foreign investors, adding that, “the distribution is 60 percent held by the government, and 40 percent stake by foreign investors.”

EWEC was formed in November 2018, succeeding the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (ADWEC), and it is a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Power Corporation, an active investment manager in the utilities sector in Abu Dhabi.

(Writing by Nada Al Rifai nada.rifai@refinitiv.com , editing by Seban Scaria)

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