The five-year bond is also the largest blue bond issued in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and the biggest by an integrated power and water utility globally
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, known as TAQA, has issued a $750 million blue bond to finance sustainable water and wastewater projects, marking the first such issuance by a government-related entity in the GCC.
The five-year bond is also the largest blue bond issued in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and the biggest by an integrated power and water utility globally, the company said.
The privately placed notes carry a 5.125 per cent coupon and are listed on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market. Standard Chartered acted as sole placement agent.
The bond is rated Aa3 by Moody’s and AA by Fitch, in line with TAQA’s corporate credit ratings, and attracted strong demand from international investors.
Funding water security
The proceeds will be used to finance or refinance eligible projects across sustainable water and wastewater management under TAQA’s Green and Blue Finance Framework.
The framework was updated earlier this year to include blue financing instruments, green grid investments and climate adaptation projects. Moody’s assigned it a sustainability quality score of SQS2, or ‘Very Good’.
Jasim Husain Thabet, Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of TAQA, said water scarcity remained one of the world’s most pressing and underfunded challenges.
“As a vertically integrated power and water utility operating in one of the world’s most water-stressed regions, TAQA is investing across the water value chain,”he said.
The investments cover desalination, water transmission and distribution, wastewater treatment and water reuse.
Thabet said the issuance was aligned with Abu Dhabi’s Integrated Water Sector Strategy and Climate Change Adaptation Plan, adding that investor demand reflected confidence in TAQA’s financial strength and long-term strategy.
Sustainable financing reaches $2.6 billion
TAQA has now issued $2.6 billion in green and blue-labelled bonds since launching its Green Finance Framework in 2023.
The issuance follows a sharp rise in TAQA’s infrastructure investment during 2025, when capital expenditure increased 48 per cent to Dh14.5 billion. The group advanced major power, water and transmission projects in the UAE and overseas, including renewable energy, battery storage and desalination developments.
The group has also invested close to $10 billion in utility-sector energy transition projects since launching its 2030 sustainable growth strategy in 2021, with the figure measured through the end of 2025.
TAQA said it would continue investing in low-carbon power, sustainable water systems and resilient infrastructure as demand for secure electricity and water services grows.
Source: khaleejtimes