UAE breaks ground on 50 MW solar plant in CAR, expanding Africa footprint
Abu Dhabi’s financial footprint has expanded across Africa, making the UAE the continent’s fourth-largest source of foreign capital.
A sustainable investment firm from the United Arab Emirates has broken ground on a major solar plant in the Central African Republic (CAR), set to power over 300,000 households and representing the latest in a string of Emirati projects in Africa that rival those of China and the United States in scale.
What happened: Global South Utilities (GSU), a UAE-based resources investment firm, has begun construction of a 50-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant in Sakai, CAR.
Once operational, according to UAE news agency WAM, the plant will deliver renewable electricity to over 300,000 households and offset annual carbon emissions by more than 50,000 tons. The project will also include a 10 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system.
A ground-breaking ceremony for the plant on Sunday was attended by CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera, CAR Minister for Strategic Investments and Major Works Pascal Bida Koyagbele, along with other government officials and GSU leadership.
