ACWA Power receives prestigious recognitions for 2013 achievements

 ACWA Power’s extraordinary success has also not gone unnoticed by the industry attracting a steady stream of top accolades which included the much coveted PFI’s Global Sponsor of the Year (2011) award. The year 2013 was no exception and with ACWA Power’s successful foray into the Renewables sector with the financial closing of watershed projects in Morocco and South Africa; both becoming  well recognized. Similarly on the conventional fuel front, the 2,060 MW gas fired Rabigh 2 IPP which set a new benchmark for thermal efficiency was also well lauded.  The awards received by these projects include;

 Middle East Solar Industry Association’s (MESIA) “the Utility Company of the Year” and “Project of the Year” awards for ACWA Power’s NOOR1 CSP IPP project in Morocco.

 Project Finance International; a Thomson Reuters publication has awarded the ACWA Power led Bokpoort CSP IPP project the “African Renewable Deal of the Year” and “Solar Deal of the year 2013” by World Finance Magazine; a leading financial magazine. In its appraisal, World Finance recognized Bokpoort CSP IPP ‘s scale, scope and complexity in reaching 21,000 homes as South Africa’s first renewable technology at commercial scale to provide for the country’s daily peak demand; and for having the largest thermal storage ever adopted for a solar plant as supporting arguments for the award.

NOOR1 CSP IPP and Rabigh2 IPP were also named “African Solar Deal of the Year” and “Middle East Deal of the Year” respectively by the Project Finance Magazine. EMEA magazine has also awarded Rabigh2 IPP “Best Financing Deal of the Year”.

But well beyond these awards for specific projects, it is the MEED Angus Hindley Award “for Project Excellence” and the “Fund Awards” as Energy Investment Firm of the year and the “M&A Awards” as Infrastructure Industry Fundraising Team of the year by Acquisition International Magazine, published by AI Global Media Ltd, which has reinvigorated corporate finance news and reporting that gives due recognition to the scale and breadth of ACWA Power’s achievements

Paddy Padmanathan, President & CEO of ACWA Power noted that  “No honor is more valuable than one that is bestowed on one by one’s peers and I dedicate each and every one of these awards to the professionals at ACWA Power who are all individually and collectively committed to making a difference by pushing through preconceived barriers to deliver step change with a single minded focus on the mission of the company of reliably providing electricity and desalinated water at the lowest possible cost by consistently selecting the optimal technical solution, partnering with the most efficient engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) service provider; implementing an optimum operation and maintenance strategy; and formulating business cases to structure the most competitive equity and debt financing”

Rajit Nanda, Chief Investment Officer of ACWA Power added that “These awards, none of which we take for granted, play an important role in fuelling entrepreneurial spirit amongst individual businesses and encourage them to take on greater challenges.  A related benefit is that the ensuing public dissemination of transaction details adds to the industry’s knowledge base and promotes best practices”.