Riyadh – Sharikat Mubasher: China Energy Engineering announced signing a 6.98 billion yuan ($972 million) contract to build a solar power plant in Saudi Arabia.

The 2 gigawatt (GW) photovoltaic plant will be built by a joint venture between China Energy Engineering and other parties, according to an announcement by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, marking the latest in a string of China-Saudi renewable energy deals.

The 2 gigawatt (GW) photovoltaic plant will be built by a joint venture between a China Energy Engineering consortium and Saudi partners sovereign fund PIF, ACWA Power 2082.SE, and Saudi Aramco Power Company.

Construction is expected to take 31 months, according to the announcement.

Last month, China's TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy Technology tied up with Saudi partners including PIF in a $2.08 billion silicon crystal and wafer manufacturing project.

JinkoSolar separately signed an agreement to invest in a $985 million, 10 GW solar cell and module manufacturing plant in the kingdom.