The refinancing completes a restructuring of the project that saw Belgium's Besix and France's Veolia replacing the UK's Thames Water as the principal shareholders on the project. Under a restructuring agreement signed on 30 January, Thames Water's 60 per cent shareholding in the project company has been split between Besix and Veolia, with Besix taking a 40 per cent shareholding in the company. Veolia and the government of Ajman each have a 20 per cent stake while Belgium's Six Construct, an affiliate of Besix, and the US' Black & Veatch each have 10 per cent.

The restructuring also saw Thames Water's 25-year operation and maintenance contract transferred to a newly established operating company known as Moalajah, which has been formed by a joint venture of Six Construct, which has 67 per cent, and Veolia. A new consortium of Besix with Black & Veatch has the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract and has introduced an accelerated construction programme that will see the facilities completed in 30 months (MEED 3:2:06).