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Saudi Arabia’s Acwa has announced it has refinanced the existing debt facilities of the Hassyan independent power project (IPP) in Dubai.

In a post on social media platform LinkedIn, the developer said the transaction is the largest refinancing it has completed, valued at $2.45bn.

It added that the deal is backed by a new group of lenders. These lenders have yet to be disclosed.

The Hassyan IPP has a generation capacity of 2,400MW and reached full commercial operations in 2023.

The project was originally developed as a coal-fired IPP. It was later converted to operate on natural gas instead, reflecting changes in Dubai’s power generation strategy.

A consortium comprising Acwa – formerly Acwa Power – and China’s Harbin Electric won the contract to develop the project in 2016.

Acwa and Harbin Electric hold 26.95% and 14.7% stakes, respectively, in the project company Hassyan Energy Company. Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) holds 51%, while Silk Road Fund owns 7.35%.

The Hassyan plant forms part of Dewa’s wider generation portfolio. Other major assets include the Jebel Ali and Al-Aweer power complexes, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR) Solar Park and the Hatta hydroelectric project.

MBR Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world, with a planned capacity target of 7,260MW by 2030.

Dewa recently extended the bid deadline for its seventh phase, which will add 2,000MW from photovoltaic solar panels and includes a 1,400MW battery energy storage system with a six-hour capacity.

The new bid submission deadline is 1 May.