Abu Dhabi’s TAQA has raised $750 million through a five-year blue bond to fund sustainable water and wastewater projects, the largest such issuance by an integrated power and water utility.
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) issued a $750 million blue bond on 30 July to finance sustainable water and wastewater management, the company said in a statement carried by WAM. It is the largest blue bond by an integrated power and water utility globally and the largest ever issued in the EMEA region.
The five-year notes were placed privately, with Standard Chartered Bank as sole placement agent, and carry a coupon of 5.125%. They list on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market and hold ratings of Aa3 from Moody’s and AA from Fitch, in line with TAQA’s corporate credit rating. Investor demand ran strong, the company said.
This is the first blue bond under TAQA’s Green and Blue Finance Framework, updated this year to add blue financing instruments alongside categories for green grid and climate change adaptation. Moody’s gave the framework a second party opinion and a sustainability quality score of SQS2, or very good. Net proceeds will finance or refinance eligible blue projects.
TAQA has now issued $2.6 billion of green and blue labelled bonds since launching its Green Finance Framework in 2023. The utility has invested close to $10 billion in energy transition projects through the end of 2025, under the 2030 Vision for Sustainable and Profitable Growth it set out in 2021. Economy Middle East reported the deal as the first blue bond by a government-related entity in the GCC.
Group chief executive and managing director Jasim Husain Thabet said water scarcity is one of the defining challenges of the age and stays underfunded relative to its importance. He said TAQA is investing across the water value chain, including desalination, transmission and distribution, and wastewater treatment and reuse. The issuance aligns with Abu Dhabi’s Integrated Water Sector Strategy and Climate Change Adaptation Plan.
For the UAE, the bond deepens a sustainable debt market that Gulf issuers increasingly tap to fund water and grid infrastructure. It gives investors a benchmark for blue finance in one of the world’s most water-stressed regions, where desalination and reuse underpin long-term water security.
