Masdar has reached financial close on an AED 22.4 billion clean energy project in Abu Dhabi that carries a landmark designation as the world's first gigascale round-the-clock renewable energy facility.
The Abu Dhabi-headquartered developer is contributing AED 3.6 billion in equity, with the remaining AED 18.7 billion raised through a debt package arranged by a consortium of 13 international and regional lenders – among them First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, HSBC, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, Société Générale, Natixis, Crédit Agricole CIB, KfW IPEX-Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Bank of China.
The project, co-developed with Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), pairs a 5.2-gigawatt solar photovoltaic plant with a 19-gigawatt-hour battery energy storage system – a configuration designed to deliver uninterrupted renewable power at scale. Masdar broke ground in October 2025 and expects the facility to be operational by 2027, reinforcing the UAE's accelerating push toward clean energy dominance across the region.
Gulf Economist Staff Writer