Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance and AS&H advise TRSDC on a first-of-a-kind fully integrated multi-utility concession agreement for the provision of utilities on an entirely renewable basis to The Red Sea Project in Saudi Arabia

Clifford Chance in co-operation with Abuhimed Alsheikh Alhagbani Law Firm (AS&H) advised The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) on a fully integrated city-wide utility programme comprising more than 20 individual utility plants and associated transmission infrastructure, including the world's largest energy storage system, solar PV, wind power, biofuel power generation, reverse osmosis desalination, district cooling, wastewater treatment and municipal solid waste management.

The first-of-a kind, fully sustainable, project, with no connection to the wider Saudi utility networks, was procured on a BOT (build, own and transfer) basis under a single multi-utility concession agreement.

TRSDC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, will act as the Offtaker of utilities, and entered into the project agreements with Saudi-based ACWA Power on 15 November 2020.

The utilities project is expected to come on-line during 2022 and will provide the entire utilities required by The Red Sea Project in phase one. Once fully operational, the pioneering luxury tourist destination is slated to attract one million visitors per year, create 70,000 new direct, indirect and induced jobs and increase Saudi Arabia's GDP by US$5.86 billion annually.

Leading energy and infrastructure partner Richard Parris of Clifford Chance headed the cross-border team advising TRSDC and comments: "We are honoured to have played a role in the development of this incredibly complex and ground-breaking utilities project which will help to set new global standards in sustainable development while also enabling TRSDC to position The Red Sea Project as a luxury tourist destination".

Additional members of the Clifford Chance team included partners Tariq Imam and Mohamed Hamra-Krouha, Counsel Inaamul Laher, senior associates Christopher Shelton, Richard Cameron and Isabella Van Zyl.

The AS&H team included managing partner Dr Fahad Abuhimed, partner Yasser Alhussain and associate Abdullah Alsugair.