CAIRO: Taqa Arabia, an energy distribution subsidiary of Citadel Capital, said on Thursday it would install a $140-million power project in Yemen, as part of an expansion strategy in the Middle East and Africa. Construction of the 70-megawatt project was slated to begin by the end of this month. Taqa Arabia plans to operate the project with international partners, Chief Executive Khaled Abu Bakr told Reuters on the sidelines of a promotional event. Cairo-based private equity firm Citadel, which manages $8.3 billion in investments, is looking to expand its investments in the Middle East and East Africa, especially those with large commodity markets, such as Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya. Taqa Arabia is also looking into investing in three power generating projects in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia to be financed by the World Bank and the African Development Bank. "One of the three projects is a mega project with a capacity of 750 megawatts … and investments of between $800 and $900 million," Abu Bakr said. Taqa Arabia, established in 2006, specializes in gas and electricity distribution as well as fuels marketing. It operates in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Libya, Jordan and Syria. The firm said it began earlier this month operating a 42-megawatt power project in southern Sudan with total investments of $70 million. Taqa Arabia owns 51 percent of the project, while the remaining stake is owned by the Sudanese Pensions Fund and the cement company, Abu Bakr said. Citadel Capital said in January it was considering listing shares of Taqa Arabia on the Egyptian stock exchange this year.
