Saudi Arabia-based ACWA Power prepares to start implementing three solar power plants in Benban area in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Aswan within July 2018, its regional director Hassan Amin said Wednesday. The power plants are with investments worth $180 million (3.2 billion Egyptian pounds), Amin told Amwal Al Ghad, saying the plants' total capacity reaches 120MW; 50MW for two plants and 20 MW for the third plant. In August 2017, ACWA Power signed Power Purchase Agreements for three plants that were planned by the firm under the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) scheme, according to Egypt Today. Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Investment Minister Sahar Nasr, Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker, ACWA's chairman Mohammad A. Abunayyan, and Egyptian Electricity Holding Company's (EEHC) head Gamal Abdel Rahim attended the agreement signing ceremony. ACWA Power signs three agreements for solar plants in Aswan The agreement allows the Saudi Arabian company to develop, build, finance, own, and operate the three plants that aim to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 156,000 tonnes per year and secure power supplies to 80,000 households, Shaker said in the statement. The construction works of the solar power plants will be completely carried out within the fourth quarter of 2018. As for ACWA Power, the company is a developer, investor, and operator of a portfolio of power generation and desalinated water production plants currently with presence in ten countries, including the Middle East, North Africa, Southern Africa, and South East Asia regions. ACWA Power, which is headquartered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is owned by eight Saudi conglomerates, Sanabil Direct Investment, Saudi Public Pensions Agency, and the International Finance Corporation that id a member of the World Bank Group.
