A consortium made up of the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, better known as Taqa, Vision Invest and the Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) has won a bid to develop a Dh1.5 billion ($408 million) water reservoir project in Saudi Arabia’s Makkah region.
The companies will be responsible for building, owning and operating the Juranah Independent Strategic Water Reservoir Project (ISWR-1) for 30 years before transferring the ownership to the Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC), Taqa said in a statement on Tuesday.
The project will respond to emergency municipal water demand for all the kingdom's regions, while also handling peak demand in Makkah and Madinah during the Hajj season.
Taqa will be the lead member for the operations and maintenance activities through a standalone company, which will be co-owned by Vision Invest.
The Abu Dhabi-based utility will take a 35 per cent share in the project company and a 50 per cent stake in the operations and maintenance entity, it said.
Debt funding is expected to account for about 80 per cent of the total project cost.
“The project is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia with the participation of the private sector,” said Khalid Al Qureshi, chief executive of SWPC.
It is expected to contribute to reduced levels of electricity consumption, as the project includes solar energy units, Mr Al Qureshi said.
Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, has allocated more than $80 billion for hundreds of projects to achieve the objectives of the National Water Strategy 2030.
The country, which has been looking to diversify away from oil exports, aims to restructure its water sector by making it more sustainable and efficient.
The water reservoir project aligns with Taqa's commitment to “sustainable development and innovation, and we look forward to delivering a robust and reliable water supply system for the community”, its group chief executive and managing director Jasim Thabet said.
In November, the company revised its growth targets to boost the size of its assets base as it committed Dh75 billion in infrastructure investments.
Taqa, which reported an almost 32 per cent jump in its third-quarter net profit, is aiming for 150 gigawatts of gross power generation by 2030 and plans a larger share of renewables within its portfolio by 2030.
“Winning the Juranah ISWR-1 project reinforces GIC’s role in supporting private sector participation in the development of the GCC economies,” said Meshary Al Judaimi, group head – principal investment at GIC.
“GIC is a leading investor in the infrastructure projects and intends to continue to play a major role in utilities projects in the GCC.”
Kuwait-based GIC, which is equally owned by the six-member states of the GCC, reported a net profit of $131 million in 2022.
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Match info
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Liverpool v Porto, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
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The specs: 2017 Lotus Evora Sport 410
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Key features of new policy
Pupils to learn coding and other vocational skills from Grade 6
Exams to test critical thinking and application of knowledge
A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis for Holistic Development) will form the standard for schools
Schools to implement online system to encouraging transparency and accountability
