ACWA Power signs $2.4bn wind farm deal in Uzbekistan

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Saudi-listed ACWA Power has signed a power acquisition deal with the National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan to build three wind power plants in the country.

According to a bourse filing to the Tadawul exchange, the $2.4 billion Kungrad wind farm project in the north-western Karakalpakstan district of Uzbekistan, will be implemented through special purpose vehicles.

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The statement said that, once complete, the wind farm will power 1.65 million homes annually, with each plant generating 500 megawatts.

The agreement also relates to the improvement, building and functions of the venture and will last for 25 years upon the project’s completion.

“The financial impact of the contracted revenues is expected once the project achieves project commercial operating date on the third quarter of 2027,” the filing from ACWA Power said.

In September, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and China’s Silk Road Fund signed a share purchase agreement for the 1.5 GW Sirdarya combined cycle gas turbine facility in Uzbekistan. 

As per the agreement, ACWA Power continues to be the majority shareholder in the project, holding a 51 percent stake in the facility. The Silk Road Fund, China’s sovereign investment body that implements the Belt and Road Initiative, now owns 49 percent of the Sirdarya facility.