Three consortia, including one led by Sumitomo Corporation, have submitted bids for a contract to develop a 2.5 GW gas-fired power plant in Abu Dhabi, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The plant, known as Taweelah C, is the first combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) independent power project (IPP) to be tendered in Abu Dhabi since 2019.

Sumitomo bid with Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation, according to the sources.

A tie-up between Saudi utility developer Aljomaih Energy & Water (AEW) and Singapore’s Sembcorp submitted another bid for the contract, the sources said.

The third bidder comprises state-backed Etihad Water & Electricity, Korea Western Power (KOWEPO) and Kyuden, sources added.

Abu Dhabi state utility Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) issued requests for proposals for the contract in July 2024, initially expecting to receive bids before the end of last year. It then revised the deadline for final offers to 31 July 2025.

Germany’s Siemens Energy will be supplying gas turbines for the plant, which sources say could require an investment of around USD 2bn.

Located approximately 50 kilometres northeast of Abu Dhabi, the Taweelah C project will closely follow the emirate’s IPP model, where developers enter into a long-term agreement with Ewec as the sole procurer.

The state utility said the project will involve the development, financing, construction, operation, maintenance and ownership of the plant, with the successful developer or developer consortium owning up to 40% of the entity.

The Abu Dhabi government will indirectly hold the remaining equity.

The power-purchase agreement (PPA) for Taweelah C is expected to expire by 2049, which is several years shorter than previous PPAs and in line with the UAE’s plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

A team of Alderbrook Finance and Sargent & Lundy are providing financial and technical advisory services to Ewec for the Taweelah C IPP, said sources.

Ewec last awarded a CCGT IPP contract, Fujairah 3, to Marubeni in 2020.

Sources said Ewec is separately expected to award the contract for an open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) IPP imminently.

Unlike Ewec’s CCGT plants that provide baseload capacity, the 1.5 GW Madinat Zayed OCGT is designed as a peaker plant, operating only at periods of high demand, said sources.

Abu Dhabi’s renewed push to develop new gas-fired capacity can be attributed in part to expiring contracts with several independent water and power producer (IWPP) facilities.

The plants that will reach the end of their existing contracts during the 2025-29 period include Sas Al-Nakhl, which has a power generation capacity of 1.6 GW; Taweelah B, 2.2 GW, and Taweelah A1, 1.67 GW.

In April this year, Ewec signed a new PPA with a team of TAQA, Engie and Sumitomo to reconfigure the Shuweihat 1 IWPP, whose original PPA expired in June.

In 2022, Abu Dhabi wound down the operation of Taweelah A2, the GCC region’s first IWPP. The power and water purchase agreement supporting that project expired in September 2021 and was not extended.

Siemens Energy and Sumitomo declined to respond to comment requests. Ewec and the rest of the bidders did not respond to requests for comment.