Marafiq releases RFP for Yanbu IWPP

The President and CEO of Power and Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu (Marafiq), Thamer S. Al-Sharhan, has announced the release of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Yanbu Independent Water and Power Project (Yanbu IWPP). This is the second IWPP project that is being tendered by Marafiq, the first being the Jubail IWPP which achieved financial close in June 2007.

In a statement Al-Sharhan said that “the issuance of the RFP for Yanbu IWPP represents a major step forward in the development and privatization of the Kingdom’s water and power sector. The RFP is the product of significant work by various organizations in the Kingdom and has the full support of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is also a reflection of the strong economy that the Kingdom is experiencing”.

He said Yanbu and Jubail industrial cities are symbols of the Kingdom’s strong growth in the industrial sector. The Yanbu IWPP's production will meet the increasing demand for water and power in Yanbu Industrial City (YIC).

“We are pleased to see keen interest by the bidding groups for the project and look forward to receiving competitive bids”, the Marafiq President said.

Marafiq has issued the RFP to pre-qualified bidding groups to select a developer or a developer consortium to own 60 per cent of a special-purpose project company that will build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) the 1,700 MW and 150,000 cubic meters of water per day IWPP. The plant will be Cracked Heavy Fuel Oil fired, with Arabian Light Crude oil as back-up. The remaining 40 per cent of the shares in the project company will be ultimately held by Marafiq.

Marafiq's owners are the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, SABIC, Saudi Aramco and the Public Investment Fund (PIF), each holding 24.81 per cent. The remaining 0.76 per cent is held by private investors.

The project company will sell its entire capacity and output to a new off-taker company in Yanbu that is 100 per cent owned by Marafiq. This will be done under a 25-year Power and Water Purchase Agreement with structured credit support from the Ministry of Finance.

Bids are due to be submitted to Marafiq on 27 August 2008.

Marafiq is being advised by:

HSBC as Financial Consultant

Allen and Overy LLP as Legal Consultant; and

Lahmeyer International as Technical Consultant.

Points of Contact

Power and Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu

Zaid Al-Buti, General Manager IWPP
Tel: +966 3 340 9544
E-Mail: butiza@marafiq.com.sa

HSBC Bank plc

Paul Eardley-Taylor / Matthew Nathan
Tel: +27 11 676 4412 / +44 20 7991 9903
E-Mail: paul.eardley-taylor@hsbcib.com / matthewnathan@hsbcib.com