The Yemeni electricity and energy ministry and China national corporation for overseas economic cooperation (CCOEC) signed a deal on Monday to build solar power units, the Yemeni official agency Saba reported.
The units will be built in Yemen's capital Sanaa and the archipelago of Socotra on the Indian Ocean with a donation from the Chinese Corporation, Saba said, a day after the two sides signed a deal to build three gas-fired power stations and a gas pipeline to feed the plants in Shabwa, Dhamar and Hodeida.
Two units will be built in the Matan district and Al-Sabeen Hospital, Sanaa; one with a capacity of one megawatt and the second with a half-megawatt capacity. The unit to be built on Socotra, with a capacity of one megawatt, will aim to conserve the natural environment on the archipelago.
Under today's deal, the construction of the solar power units will start after nine months and CCOEC will conduct the studies on the project as soon as possible.
Yemen has launched a drive to build up its electricity sector, with a focus on constructing more power plants and with a special focus on renewable energy sources.
Yemen's weather is sunny almost throughout the year and this makes the country very suitable to build solar power units.