Mitsui sells 15 % stake in UAE Umm Al Nar Power and Water Project

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. recently announced that it has completed the sale of its entire stake (15% of shares) in ITM Investment Company Limited (ITMI) to Tokyo Electric Power Company International B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo Electric Power Company Incorporated, on May 14, 2015.

ITMI is an investment company that was established between Mitsui, Tokyo Electric Power Company International B.V. (TEPCO), and International Power plc of UK (now ENGIE, previously called GDF SUEZ Energy International), and through ITMI Mitsui invested in the Umm Al Nar Power and Water Project in the UAE.

In its new Medium-term Management Plan announced in May of last year, Mitsui, backed by strong cash generation capabilities, stated that growth-oriented investment and shareholder return shall be implemented in a well-balanced manner as a basic policy. In line with this policy, Mitsui executed the said sale aimed at accumulation of good quality assets and enhancement of its asset portfolio through strategic asset recycling.

The 2,200MW and 650,000 t/day project is located in Sas Al Nakhl Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE (15 km east of Abu Dhabi). It had an estimated cost of 250 billion yen ($2.1 billion).

The combined cycle plant uses natural gas supplied by Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (ADWEC) and Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (ADWEC) is the off-taker of the project.

The contract is for a twenty-year BOO (build-own-operate) project that commenced operation of the new plant in 2007.