Dubai’s Historic Hassyan Seawater Project Closes with AG Support 

International law firm Addleshaw Goddard (‘AG’) has provided legal counsel to the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) in successfully achieving commercial close on the groundbreaking 180MIGD Hassyan Seawater Reverse Osmosis Project. This significant milestone was reached alongside ACWA Power Company (ACWA), the winning bidder hailing from Saudi Arabia. 

On October 3, 2023, DEWA and ACWA formally executed the key agreements, marking the commercial close for one of the world’s most extensive seawater desalination initiatives. The project, set for completion in February 2027, is poised to elevate Dubai’s installed water desalination capacity to 670MIGD. Notably, this venture forms an integral part of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and has been proclaimed as the world’s largest solar-powered desalination plant by DEWA. Furthermore, DEWA accomplished a world record levelized cost of water (LCOW) at an impressively low rate of 0.36536 USD/m³. 

Commenting on the achievement, Alexander Sarac (pictured), Infrastructure Projects and Energy Partner for Addleshaw Goddard Middle East said: “We wish to congratulate His Excellency, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, and the entire DEWA team for having reached commercial close on this significant project. AG was honoured and pleased to act as legal advisor to DEWA on this project, together with the excellent teams of Deloitte and WSP Middle East Limited, who played a fantastic role in getting it into the market and reaching commercial close in such a short timeframe. We thank the project teams of Deloitte and WSP for their excellent cooperation and results-focused approach in delivering this important milestone for DEWA.” 

“We also wish to congratulate the successful ACWA team, including Mohammad Abunayyan, Founder and Chairman of ACWA, as well ACWA’s technical, financial and legal experts, for their successful bid and extremely professional conduct during the negotiations,” he added. 

The commercial close was achieved in under ten months since the release of the request for proposal, demonstrating the remarkable efficiency of DEWA’s project team. This accomplishment underscores DEWA’s position as one of the most proficient entities in the development of power, water, and infrastructure projects, both regionally and globally. The project aligns with Dubai’s commitment to expanding its infrastructure services to deliver world-class standards to its residents and citizens. 

AG acted as legal advisor to DEWA on the project, together with Deloitte as financial advisors and WSP Middle East’s Dubai Branch as technical advisor. The AG team was led by Dubai-based partner Alexander Sarac, supported by partner Robin Hickman, managing associate Philip Chalmers and associate Ryan Ogg. The Deloitte team was led by Vishal Rander, supported by Sudarshan TM, Anurav Jain and Maha Kabtni. The WSP team was led by Ashwani Sachar, supported by Kumar Sandeep and Swati Mishra.