Acwa Signs $478 Million Water Purchase Agreement With DEWA for Hassyan Desalination
The 30-year deal covers a plant planned to produce about 272,000 cubic metres of desalinated water a day, with Acwa holding a 40% stake.
Acwa has signed a $478 million (SAR 1.79 billion) water purchase agreement with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority for a desalination project in the emirate. The contract covers the Hassyan Seawater Reverse Osmosis Independent Water Project, sited within Dubai's Hassyan Complex.
The plant is designed to produce roughly 272,000 cubic metres of desalinated water a day. The agreement runs for 30 years and spans development, financing, construction and operation of the facility. Acwa holds a 40% stake in the project.
The Saudi-listed company said the project's financial impact is expected to begin in 2030, once construction is complete. It also confirmed that no related parties are involved in the agreement, which was disclosed in a filing on the Saudi Exchange on Wednesday.
The deal extends a run of desalination and power awards for Acwa across the region. In February, a consortium led by the company signed a $4.1 billion energy conversion and water purchase agreement with Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy for the Az-Zour North Phase 2 and 3 project. That contract has a 25-year term, with the facility planned for 2,700 megawatts of generation capacity and about 545,500 cubic metres a day of desalination capacity. Acwa's effective stake in Az-Zour North is 24%.
Acwa shares rose 0.76% to $42.2 (SAR 158.2) on the Saudi Exchange on Wednesday. The company reported first-half 2026 net profit of $174.2 million (SAR 653.2 million), down 28.1% from $242.4 million (SAR 909 million) a year earlier. Revenue for the period climbed 8.6% to $1.08 billion (SAR 4.03 billion), helped by higher energy and operations and maintenance revenue. Acwa attributed the profit decline mainly to lower operating income, with reduced impairment losses and lower net financing costs partly offsetting the drop.
The company placed seventh among the kingdom's 10 most valuable listed companies in a 2026 ranking, and 26th in a separate ranking of the region's 100 most valuable companies for the year.
The Hassyan contract is a long-dated asset rather than an immediate earnings lift. Its 30-year term reaches well past the point where the current profit slide will have been resolved or not, which makes the pipeline a bet on contracted cash flow rather than on the present cycle.
