Tunisia has granted licences to three international companies to produce 500 megawatts of electricity from renewables.
The projects are worth $410.41 million and will create 2,000 jobs, the energy minister told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy conference.
The companies are Norway’s Scatec (SCATC.OL), Engie Nareva and TBEA-AMEA, the official said. TBEA-AMEA is a consortium between AMEA Power, a subsidiary of United Arab Emirates-based Al Nowais Investments (ANI), and China’s Xinjiang TBEA Group Co Ltd. Engie Nareva is a partnership between France’s Engie SA and Morocco’s Nareva Holding SA.
Full details on the projects were not immediately available.
Producing 500 megawatts of clean electricity will enable Tunisia to reduce its gas imports by 6% this year, Prime Minister Najla Bouden told the conference on Wednesday.
Tunisia, which is suffering a dire financial crisis and political unrest, seeks to attract foreign investments in the energy sector.
Tunisia will request offers to produce 1,500 megawatts of electric power from renewable energy this year, Bouden said.
The country aims at producing 30% of electricity through renewables by 2030, Bouden added.
