Saudi’s Acwa Power signs MoU with China’s Huawei and Silk Road Fund

Acwa Power develops such to allow the company to maintain its cost leadership and reputation.

Acwa Power, the Saudi Arabia based developer of power and water plants recently announced that it has entered into a deal with Huawei and Silk Road Fund of China while the Crown Prince, HRH Mohammed Bin Salman, who is also the Minister of Defense and VP of the Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia, was on a tour of Beijing.

The memorandums of understanding (MoU) signed with the organizations are expected to pave the way for investments and technological advancements for Acwa, which is a public investment fund backed firm. It is being opined that the MoUs would prove to be beneficial in the building of power generation and desalinated water production plants, the focal points of business of the Saudi company.

Reportedly, Hang Zheng, Vice Premier of the State Council of China and HRH Mohammed Bin Salman both attended that MoU signing ceremony. Wang Yanzhi, CEO, Silk Road Fund and Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan, Chairman, Acwa Power signed the agreement.

Sources close to the matter report that Silk Road Fund would be investing in the projects undertaken by Acwa Power Renewable Energy Holding Ltd. in countries like the UAE, South Africa, Jordan and Egypt, that come under China’s Belt and Road Initiative which is reportedly a trillion-dollar program.

On the other hand, the agreement between Acwa Power and Huawei will have both companies working together to utilize information and communication technology to digitize power plant management processes, improve the performance of solar photovoltaic projects of Acwa Power and boost overall efficiencies.

Apparently, Acwa Power adopted a centralized control and monitoring project in 2018 and the agreement with Huawei builds on this project as Huawei’s Fusion Solar system was deployed for the plant’s management, monitoring, and control.

Paddy Padmanathan, President, Acwa Power has been reported to say that the company has progressively entered into collaborations with Chinese financial service providers, investors, engineering, procurement, and construction contractors and technology providers to deliver the company’s expanding utilities assets portfolio. He added that the synergies created through such agreements allow the company to maintain its cost leadership and reputation.