Barakah One wins ESG financing award for groundbreaking $2.42 billion green refinancing for nuclear energy

A groundbreaking $2.42 billion refinancing deal for the UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant has been named ESG Loan Deal of the Year by the Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East Awards.

Barakah One Company – the financing and commercial subsidiary of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) - worked in partnership with prominent institutions First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) on the loan. It is the first in the MENA Region and Asia to be independently recognised as a green loan facility.

Fiscal innovation

The refinancing vehicle is seen as supporting the UAE’s In-Country Value Programme as well as confirming the important role of the nuclear energy sector in contributing to the UAE’s green economy through clean, carbon-free electricity.

It involved a competitive market process of transformation of the loans into green loan financing, with FAB acting as Senior Green Coordinator, and ADCB as Green Loan Coordinator.

Energy and jobs generator

His Excellency Mohamed Al Hammadi, ENEC’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said: “The award underscores the critical role of ENEC and nuclear energy in accelerating the UAE’s decarbonisation efforts and supporting the development of a green economy - which will play a key part in driving future growth and investment.

“The Barakah plant is already the largest source of dispatchable clean electricity in the MENA region, and is…generating substantial economic value in the UAE, establishing opportunities for the local supply chain, and creating job opportunities.”

The Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East Awards has been recognising innovative financial deals in the region since 2014.

Distinguished UAE entities including Masdar, Mubadala, Majid Al Futtaim, Emirates NBD Bank, and FAB were honoured in various other categories together with Barakah One Company.

Barakah is the Arab world’s first nuclear energy plant and, with full commercial operation forecast for later this year, will generate 40 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity per year while simultaneously preventing the release of 22.4 million tons of carbon emissions.

Recognising nuclear viability

Nasser Al Nasseri, Barakah One Company’s CEO, said that nuclear energy's importance in “facilitating a seamless energy transition and addressing climate change risks” was widely acknowledged globally.

“It’s essential that banks, financial institutions, and key decision-makers now recognise the financial viability of nuclear energy projects,” he added. “It is a privilege for us to be recognised with this prestigious award, and to accelerate the energy transition in the UAE, and the broader MENA region.”