In 2002, the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decided to increase the role the private sector played in the Saudi economy by opening up the production of electricity and desalinated water to the private sector to own and operate. Recognizing the opportunity that this significant shift in policy offered, ACWA Holding (representing the Abunayyan Trading Company and Abdulkadir Al Muhaidib & Sons Co.) along with the MADA Group for Industrial and Commercial Development (MADA Group) formed a joint venture under the name of ACWA Power Projects in 2004. The latter was the forerunner of present day ACWA Power, which was subsequently founded in 2008.