Shanghai Electric Secures EPC Contract from ACWA for 900 MW Solar Park in Dubai

Shanghai Electric Group, power generator and electrical equipment maker, has bagged an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract from Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power under phase-V of the 900 MW Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai.

For this, the cooperative agreement was signed between Zheng Jianhua, Chairman of Shanghai Electric Group, and Muhammed Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power at an online signing ceremony on July 28, 2020. Shanghai Electric worked with ACWA Power for bidding the tender of the latest phase of 900 MW and finally won.

The deal is significant as this is the largest single-site solar power plant in the Middle East (ME), comprising both photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power technologies and will boast an aggregate capacity of around 5GW once completed.

Commenting on the partnership, Zheng Jianhua, Chairman of Shanghai Electric Group said that “ACWA Power and Shanghai Electric are both acknowledged as important participators in the global energy field. The contract signing of 900 MW solar park project is another milestone along the journey of the pair’s cooperation. I hope the upcoming plant will be another benchmark in the region as well as worldwide.”

Earlier, the two entities have been cooperated with each other in the 700 MW concentrated solar power (CSP) project and the 250 MW PV solar power project, under phase-IV of the solar park.

With an aim to tap the growing global solar power industry, Shanghai Electric said it has cemented its expansion in new energy sector in the ME region and is expected to expand eventually across the globe.

“As we move swiftly forward with implementation, the signing of the EPC contract between ACWA Power and Shanghai Electric for the fifth phase of the Solar Park project represents a crucial milestone of the cooperation between the two companies,” said Muhammed Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power.

Abunayyan added that to the latest project, the Group will bring more pioneering technologies and create larger value than before.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will be a key pillar in fulfilling Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to increase the share of clean energy in Dubai's total power output to 75 per cent by 2050. The project sets the benchmark for the rest of the world through leveraging the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model and carrying forward large-scale, cost-competitive projects.