The Red Sea destination in Saudi Arabia has reached a landmark milestone after the ACWA-led consortium signed the Project Commercial Operation Date certificate, formally commencing a 25-year concession to deliver fully renewable utilities across the giga-project, the first time a development of this scale in the Kingdom has brought its entire utility systems online without any connection or support from the national grid.

Certificate Signed Between Marafiq and Red Sea Global

The Project Commercial Operation Date certificate was signed between Marafiq Red Sea for Energy Company, the project company formed by Acwa with SPIC Huanghe Hydropower and Saudi Tabreed, and The Red Sea Utilities Company, a subsidiary of Red Sea Global.

The signing confirms that all utility systems are now in commercial service, triggering the commencement of a concession spanning 25 years under which Acwa and its partners will develop, operate, and maintain the utilities serving the destination.

The integrated utilities platform covers power, water, wastewater, district cooling, and waste management, five distinct service streams bundled into a single cohesive system.

Red Sea Global describes the project as central to its model of regenerative tourism, with the destination now powered entirely by renewable energy and operating independently of the national grid.

Solar and Battery Infrastructure at Unprecedented Scale

At the core of the system is a 340 MWac solar photovoltaic plant paired with a 1,227 MWh battery energy storage system, described as the largest off-grid battery installation built anywhere in the world.

The battery storage component allows the destination to remain fully powered through the night without drawing on any conventional grid infrastructure. The generating system delivers up to 760,000 MWh of clean energy annually.

When running at full capacity, the system avoids approximately 600,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. The integrated platform has been designed to scale in step with the destination, with additional capacity able to be brought online as future phases of the project are completed.

Services Now Operational Across the Destination

The utility system currently serves all of Red Sea Global's operational hotels, the Red Sea International Airport, the logistics hub, an electric vehicle fleet, a staff village, and community facilities.

Beyond power generation and storage, the project scope encompasses three seawater reverse osmosis plants providing potable water, a sewage treatment plant capable of treating 16,000 cubic meters of waste per day, a waste management center, and district cooling infrastructure totaling 32,500 refrigeration tons serving hotels and the airport.

The sewage treatment plant is designed to enhance the surrounding environment by creating new wetland habitats and supplementing irrigation water for the Red Sea Global landscape nursery and the Shura Links golf course, according to the company's announcement.

Financing and Construction Partners

Financial close for the project was announced in February 2022, with approximately USD 1.33 billion in senior debt facilities arranged through Saudi and international banks, bringing the total investment to approximately USD 1.84 billion. The financing was characterized as a landmark in bankability for first-of-a-kind off-grid infrastructure of this nature.

The utility system was engineered and constructed by SEPCO III, operating as part of the Shandong Tiejun consortium, in the role of EPC contractor. Operation and maintenance is being carried out by Acwa Operations under a long-term agreement aligned with the full 25-year concession period. The construction phase was completed with a lost time injury-free milestone recorded across 30 million safe working hours.

Executives Frame Project as a Global Benchmark

Mohammad Abunayyan, Founder and Chairman of Acwa, described the project as setting a new global benchmark for sustainable development, citing the integration of renewable energy, water services, and environmental services within a single platform.

He said the project demonstrates that infrastructure at this scale can enable economic growth while protecting natural resources, and characterized it as a model with relevance for future developments both within Saudi Arabia and internationally.

Abunayyan also pointed to the public-private partnership structure as central to the project's delivery, noting that the 25-year concession reflects the long-term nature of the arrangement and the combination of government vision with private-sector expertise and execution.

John Pagano, Group CEO at Red Sea Global, said the milestone brings the organization's vision for a new model of regenerative tourism to life at full scale. He described the off-grid, fully renewable operation as a demonstration that sustainable infrastructure can support tourism that gives back to the natural environment and communities on which it depends.

A First for Saudi Giga-Projects

The signing marks the first instance of a giga-project in the Kingdom successfully bringing its complete utility systems into commercial operation powered solely by renewable energy, with no reliance on the national grid.

Acwa, which is Saudi-listed, describes itself as the world's largest private water desalination company and a leader in the energy transition, as well as a first mover into green hydrogen at scale.

The Red Sea destination is one of several large-scale tourism and development projects being pursued under Saudi Vision 2030, the Kingdom's long-term economic and social transformation program.

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