On October 11, 2025, China Electric Power Construction Corporation announced that its subsidiaries, China Hydropower Construction Group International Engineering Co., Ltd., China Electric Power Construction Group East China Survey and Design Institute Co., Ltd., and China Electric Power Construction Group Co., Ltd., formed a consortium and signed contracts with Shatafef Renewable Energy Company for Shatafef 1 Photovoltaic IPP Project and Shatafef 2 Photovoltaic IPP Project, with contract amounts equivalent to approximately RMB 5.843 billion and RMB 5.876 billion, respectively. Both projects are located in Afif Town, Riyadh Province, central Saudi Arabia. The scope of the project includes the construction of a 2000MW photovoltaic field, a 33/132kV substation, a 132kV transmission line, partial connection and interface facilities for the power grid, and connecting roads. The contract duration is 26 months.

The two projects mentioned in the announcement are actually two of the seven 15GW wind and solar projects that ACWA Power and SPPC signed a power purchase agreement in July 2025. The projects are located in Afif 1 and Afif 2 (both 2 GW solar) in Riyadh Province. ACWA POWER is the main developer of the seven projects mentioned above, and the project participants also include Badeel, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Saudi Sovereign Fund (PIF), and SAPCO, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco.

70% of Saudi Arabia's renewable energy program NREP is developed under the leadership of the Saudi sovereign fund PIF, with only 30% being publicly tendered. The projects developed by PIF are all executed by its controlling company ACWA Power, and its brand Badeel and Saudi Aramco's power company SAPCO act as financial investors in all of these PIF developed new energy projects.

Unlike the 30% publicly tendered project led by SPPC, the PPA electricity price for PIF led projects adopts an electricity price selection mechanism and is priced based on the electricity price of SPPC publicly tendered projects during the same period. Generally speaking, the electricity price conditions are relatively good because the EPC price obtained by the contractor is not too low.Editor/Bian Wenjun