UAE’s Masdar, Engie secure multi-bank funding for 1.5GW Khazna solar project

The UAE’s Masdar and France’s Engie have reached financial close for a 1.5-gigawatt solar project in Abu Dhabi after securing financing from seven regional and international banks, including Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank.

The lender group also includes KfW IPEX, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank and Emirates Development Bank, the companies said on Monday.

Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) awarded Engie and Masdar the project in October, signing a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement with the companies.

The partners will design, finance, build and operate the plant near the Al Khazna area in Abu Dhabi, installing nearly three million panels. Once online in 2028, Khazna is expected to power about 160,000 homes across the UAE. Engie said the project will be its largest photovoltaic asset globally.

Engie’s country manager for the Gulf Cooperation Council, Niko Cornelis, told reporters on a media call on Monday that it handled all bank negotiations but declined to say how much of the project cost will be covered by debt. Equity is split 60/40 between Masdar and Engie, in line with local ownership rules.

Cornelis said the GCC remains a strategic region for the company, and that Engie is actively participating in tenders across the region, including opportunities in Saudi Arabia, as well as an upcoming Abu Dhabi solar tender of similar scale to be launched soon.

Khazna is part of wider plans to expand Abu Dhabi’s renewable power capacity to 18 GW by 2035 and meet 60 per cent of power demand from renewable and clean sources. At the federal level, the UAE has pledged net‑zero emissions by 2050; Masdar, owned by Mubadala, ADNOC and TAQA, said it had reached 65 GW of clean‑energy capacity and is targeting 100 GW by 2030.