Samsung C&T to build solar power plants worth $595 mn in Qatar

South Korea’s Samsung C&T Corp. is set to build solar power plants worth 800 billion won ($595.2 million) in Qatar, helping the Middle East country diversify its energy resources, as the construction and trading arm of Samsung Group expands its eco-friendly future businesses.

Samsung C&T said on Wednesday it has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal with state-run Qatar Energy, formerly known as Qatar Petroleum, for the country’s industrial cities solar power project (IC Solar), including the establishment of two photovoltaic solar power plants with a total capacity of 875 megawatts (MW).

“This IC Solar project is a major step in the implementation of our strategy to diversify Qatar’s energy resources and to increase the reliance on high-efficiency renewable energy, which is a cornerstone for a sustainable future,” said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of Qatar Energy.

The country has a mid-term target to secure 5 gigawatts of solar-generated power by 2035, according to Qatar Energy. Along with Al Kharsaa Solar PV Power Plant, which is currently under construction, the IC Solar project will increase Qatar’s renewable energy generation capacity to 1.675 GW by 2024, the state-run company said.

TO BE COMPLETED BY NOVEMBER 2024

Samsung C&T is to build one plant capable of generating 417 MW in Mesaieed Industrial City, about 40 kilometers south of Doha, and the other one with a capacity of 458 MW in Ras Laffan Industrial City, about 80 km north of the capital.

The company is scheduled to start construction of the plants, which will be equipped with 1.6 million solar panels, next month with a target of completion by November 2024. Those plants will supply electricity to energy-related facilities and the national power grid in the industrial complexes owned by Qatar Energy.

Samsung C&T has been working on various projects in Qatar. It is currently building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal worth 2.4 trillion won. In 2015, the company won the Umm Al Houl Power Plant project, constructing 15 km south of Doha a combined-cycle power plant and a desalination plant that produces an average of 130 million gallons of water a day.

“We are strengthening portfolios in the eco-friendly future businesses including renewable energy generation, green hydrogen and ammonia, as well as small module reactors (SMRs),” said a Samsung C&T official. “Starting with the latest order for the Qatari solar power project, we are materializing the results of our new businesses.”

Write to Hye-In Lee at hey@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.