Pinsent Masons advises joint venture delivering the multi-billion dollar Jubail Buraydah water transmission project

The project was tendered by Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) under its third round of procurement for water transmission pipeline projects. This project is a significant boost to the water infrastructure in the Al-Qassim and the Eastern provinces that will ensure a reliable and efficient drinking water supply in the two regions in line with the plans of the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture. The pipeline will have a transmission capacity of 650,000 m3/day and a length of 587 km, at a total project cost of circa 2.3 billion USD.  

The senior financing in excess of 1.7 billion USD comprised of three distinct Islamic financing structures provided by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation, the Saudi Investment Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Saudi Awwal Bank, Bank Al Jazira, Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation. The mix of senior Islamic lenders from UAE and Saudi Arabia added to the complexity and novelty of the deal – whereby the financing documents had to cater to particular senior financier’s Sharia regulatory requirements and also needed to be bankable to the entire cohort of senior financiers.  

Pinsent Masons also advised on equity bridge financings in excess of USD 600 million involving Al Bilad Bank, Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation and the Saudi Investment Bank all provided by way of specific Islamic finance structures. 

The Pinsent Masons team acting on the transaction was led by Partners Gurmeet Kaur and David Platt. The matter involved cross-border collaboration between the firm’s Dubai and Riyadh offices. 

Commenting on the deal, Gurmeet Kaur said: "This transaction reflects the growing sophistication and scale of water project financing in KSA, highlighting the importance of the private sector’s participation in the water sector development in the Kingdom, in line with the goals of Vision 2030. Our deep sector knowledge, KSA and regional presence enabled us to navigate a number of challenges that surfaced in the project and deliver a seamless outcome for our clients. We are proud to support the water sector transition in Saudi Arabia and look forward to continuing our work with sponsors on future rounds of the SWPC procurement programme." 

In addition to advising on the Jubail Buraydah project, Pinsent Masons has also acted as Lender’s counsel to Al Jomaih Energy & Water Company and TotalEnergies on the 300MW Rabigh 2 Solar Project, part of Round 5 of the Saudi Power Procurement Company’s (SPPC) renewable energy programme, which reached financial close in May 2025. The firm is also currently supporting the same sponsors on the 400MW Al Sufun Solar Project under Round 6 of SPPC’s programme, further reinforcing Pinsent Masons’ trusted role in advancing the region’s energy transition.