Chinese firm signs deals for 5GW Saudi projects

13 October 2025

China Energy Engineering Corporation has signed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for three major renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia with a total capacity of 5GW.

The agreements cover the 1GW Shaqra wind power project, the 2GW Starah wind power project and the 2GW Khulis solar photovoltaic (PV) project.

A consortium of three China Energy subsidiaries – China Energy International Group, Guangdong Thermal Power and the Northwest Electric Power Design Institute – signed the contracts.

All three projects were allocated directly under Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund's (PIF) 15GW package announced in July, with Acwa Power, Water & Electricity Holding Company (Badeel) and Saudi Aramco Power Company (Sapco).

The package included five large-scale solar PV plants with a total capacity of 12,000MW and two large-scale wind energy plants with a total capacity of 3,000MW.

The total contract value is $2.75bn with a construction period of 26 months for Shaqra and Khulis, and 30 months for Starah.

The Shaqra and Starah wind projects are located northwest and south of Riyadh, while the Khulis solar project is located north of Jeddah in Mecca province.

According to China Energy Engineering, the signing represents a major expansion of its Middle East wind market presence.

The company has been involved in previous Saudi renewable developments, including the 2.6GW Al-Shubakh solar project and 2GW Hadden solar project, both developed under PIF's direct renewable energy programme.

PIF has committed to developing 70% of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy target capacity by 2030. 

The projects under the 15GW package are scheduled to start operating in the second half of 2027 and the first half of 2028.

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Mark Dowdall
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