ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia Electric Power (EEP), a state-owned utility of the East African country, announced on Sunday evening that the country has signed a 600-million-U.S. dollar wind farm deal with the AMEA power of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In a press statement, EEP said that under the deal, a 300 megawatt (MW) wind farm will be built by AMEA power in Aysha district of Ethiopia's eastern Somali region.
"The wind farm will be built on 18,000 hectares of land and create job opportunities for thousands of Ethiopians," the EEP statement said.
According to data obtained from the EEP, Ethiopia is currently generating more than 350 MW of electricity from three different wind farms.
The Adama I Wind Farm generates 51 MW; Adama II and Ashegoda wind farms each generate 153 megawatts. Chinese contractors, HydroChina Corporation and China Geo-Engineering Corporation Overseas together built the Adama I and II wind power plants.
The energy sector is one of the country's priorities as it envisages becoming a manufacturing hub in Africa and a middle-income economy within the coming years.
The country has identified hydro, wind, geothermal, solar and biomass for energy generation projects.
