Korea Eximbank Provides $150 Million PF Financing for UAE Solar Power Project

UAE Solar Power Project Awarded to Seobu Power... Largest Ever Korean Contract
KEXIM "Contributing to Expansion of Eco-Friendly Energy Sources"

On the 28th, a COVID-19 confirmed case occurred at the Korea Eximbank in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

The Export-Import Bank of Korea announced on the 8th that it will provide project finance (PF) worth a total of 150 million USD for the Ajban solar power project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which was awarded to Korea Western Power.

At the early stage of the bidding for this project, KEXIM significantly contributed to Korea Western Power winning the project by enhancing its financial competitiveness through issuing a letter of intent for credit and other measures, surpassing prominent global competitive consortia.

The Ajban solar power project involves investing over 900 million USD (approximately 1.2 trillion KRW) to build and operate a solar power plant with a capacity of 1,500 MW in the Ajban desert area of the UAE.

Korea Western Power formed a consortium with EDF-R, the renewable energy subsidiary of the French electric utility company EDF, and won the UAE solar power project for the first time domestically, serving as the project owner overseeing the entire project.

The project site covers an area of 20 km², equivalent to 2,850 soccer fields, and approximately 2.93 million solar modules will be installed to build a mega solar power plant larger than a nuclear power plant unit (1,400 MW). This is the largest single solar power project in terms of both capacity and project cost ever awarded to a Korean company.

Upon completion in 2026, it is expected to be the seventh largest solar power plant in the world. The estimated annual power generation is 4,500 GWh, which is equivalent to the annual household electricity consumption of Incheon Metropolitan City, and the produced electricity will be fully purchased for 30 years by the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), the client in the UAE.

A KEXIM official stated, “Middle Eastern countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia are promoting sequential large-scale solar power projects annually as part of their carbon neutrality policies to address climate change,” and added, “We will actively support our companies in winning follow-up projects in the fiercely competitive Middle Eastern solar power project bids by global energy companies, contributing to the global transition to eco-friendly energy.”

Meanwhile, last year KEXIM also issued a letter of intent for credit to support Korea Western Power’s winning of the Oman Manah 1 solar power project (500 MW), the first Middle Eastern solar power project won by a Korean company domestically.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.