Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance and AS&H advise consortium led by Marubeni Corporation in relation to Shuqaiq 3 IWP in Saudi Arabia

Clifford Chance and Abuhimed Alsheikh Alhagbani Law Firm in co-operation with Clifford Chance (AS&H) have advised a consortium led by Marubeni Corporation (Marubeni) in relation to the limited recourse US$500 million financing for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Shuqaiq 3 Independent Water Project (the Project) in Saudi Arabia.

The Project will generate 450,000m3/day of water, serving a population of approximately two million. Water produced by the plant will be sold over the course of a 25-year period beginning in 2021, during which the construction of the plant is scheduled to be completed.

Given the growing demand for water in Saudi Arabia as the population grows, the Project is the latest in a region-wide trend for reverse osmosis (RO) based desalination plants. The Project is also a reflection of the growing appetite for renewable energy across the Middle East since RO desalination plants do not rely on a fire-based power plant for operation.

The team was led by Clifford Chance Partner Peter Avery, who commented: "We were delighted to work with the Marubeni-led consortium on this ground-breaking project in Saudi Arabia, and to further deepen our already very strong relationship with Marubeni in the water and power sectors".

The Clifford Chance team comprised Peter Avery (Partner), Richard Parris (Partner), Jason Mendens (Partner), Inaamul Laher (Head of Construction, MENA), Cheuk-Yin Cheung (Counsel), Abimbola Lawore (Senior Associate), Jeremy Barker (Senior Associate), Tom Bamford (Associate), Ashley Cywicki (Associate), Fizel Nejabat (Associate) and Chizoba Ikwueke (Associate).

The AS&H team comprised Yasser Alhussein (Partner, AS&H), Khalid Abdulkareem (Partner, AS&H), Amro Bakhaidar (Senior Associate, AS&H), Abdulkhaliq Elshayyal (Senior Associate, Clifford Chance seconded to AS&H), Ali Moiz Ansari (Associate, Clifford Chance seconded to AS&H) and Reema Alhamoud (Associate, AS&H).

Finance for the Project was provided by MUFG, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, The National Commercial Bank, The Norinchukin Bank, Samba Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.