Dubai Water & Electricity Authority (Dewa) has said it is delaying plans to issue a bond until the second quarter of 2010, according to the company’s chief executive Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer.

Dewa began planning a $2bn bond issue for the first quarter of 2010 late last year, according to bankers close to the utility. Although in early December 2009 Dewa later denied that it was planning a bond issue (MEED 02:12:09).

On 7 December, Nasser Akil Abbas Dewa’s treasury director told the local English language daily Emirates Business that he was unaware of any bond plans.

Dewa has also announced plans to develop its next power plant, the 1,500MW and 120 million gallons-a-day Hassyan project, as an independent water and power plant (MEED 05:01:10).