UAE signs deal to build $100m power plant in Yemen

The UAE has signed an agreement with Yemen’s ministry of electricity to develop a power plant in Aden at a cost of $100m, official news agency WAM reported.

The capacity of the plant will be about 120MW and the electricity generated is anticipated to provide power to about 2.5 million people in Yemen.

The project will be carried out by the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Affairs, the report said.

Mohammed Haji Al Khouri, director general of the foundation told WAM that under the agreement, the company will supply, install and operate a gas turbine.

The plant is expected to be operational in late 2019.

Stressing the UAE’s contribution to the humanitarian and development efforts.

Al Khouri said the project is one of the largest to be implemented by the foundation in Yemen.

The institution has built many hospitals and schools across Yemen, and is coordinating with people on the ground to identify the needs of the people.

Ahmed Jumaa Al Zaabi, minister of Supreme Council Affairs and vice president of the foundation, said: “We are facing the challenges with our brothers in Yemen and helping to rebuild state institutions.”

A Saudi-led Arab coalition, which includes the UAE, has been fighting against the Houthis in Yemen since 2015 to help restore the government under Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.

The conflict has resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis in Yemen, with an estimated 24 million people, or close to 80 per cent of the population, in need of assistance and protection, according to the UN.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says some 10,000 people have been killed since 2015.