Dubai utility provider DEWA announces $10 billion spend in capital expenditure
Dubai’s utilities provider, DEWA, announced plans to spend $10.8 billion (AED 40 billion) in capital expenditure over a five-year period, the official Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Wednesday.
The investment, which was announced by the CEO of Dubai’s Electricity and Water Authority, will reportedly include an “expansion” of renewable and clean energy project.
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In a breakdown, Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer reportedly said that DEWA will invest about $4.3 billion (AED16 billion) to fortify and increase electricity and water transmission and distribution networks, nearly $3.2 billion (AED12 billion) to complete the Independent Power Producer (IPP) projects in the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the Hassyan Power Complex and the Independent Water Producer (IWP) projects at Hassyan.
District cooling provider, Empower, which is 70 percent owned by DEWA, plans to spend around $816 million (AED3 billion) mainly to expand capacity and network to meet the rising demand, according to the WAM report.
“Our plans will consolidate Dubai’s position as an advanced model that provides a favorable and supportive environment for investments,” WAM quoted al-Tayer as saying.
Dubai, which missed out entirely on a flurry of share sales in neighboring Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia last year, unveiled a plan in November to list 10 state firms in a bid to revive trading volumes and boost liquidity.
The first of those privatizations was the $6.1 billion IPO of the city’s main utility, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, in April.
That listing was the world’s second-biggest this year and drew overwhelming demand from both regional and international investors, Bloomberg reported.
While DEWA surged 20 percent on its first day of trading, it has since given up many of those gains and is now trading about three percent above its IPO price. Volumes have also reportedly dwindled from the first week.
In April, al-Tayer told CNBC Arabia that DEWA expects a 2022 profit of $1.99 billion (AED 7.3 billion) after listing as a public company in the same month.
He added that state utility DEWA has strong cash flows and will not need to take on debt.
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