Almaden Emirates Fortune Power (AEFP) ,an UAE-based energy company, has signed a MOU for developing solar power plants with a capacity of 5 GW in Bangladesh with a Bangladeshi-based business conglomerate, Intraco Solar Power (ISPL).

The agreement will support the $ 5 billion project cost of the Arab Investment Development Authority (AIDA), supported by the EU and the UN.

Bangladesh aims to generate 10% of total energy production from renewable energy sources by 2020. To achieve this objective, the Government has already launched a 500 MW solar energy mission to promote renewable energy use in the country.

The MOU, signed at the UAE-Bangladesh summit in Abu Dhabi, also includes close cooperation in current and ongoing solar projects across Bangladesh and a total of 14 million solar panels will power the plant's solar power plant project, together with the manufacturing plant that is due to be finished over the next 6 to 8 years.

Adil Al Otaiba, Chairman AIDA said, “The new project is likely to reduce power costs in billions as well as to create jobs for both the power plants and the proposed solar manufacturing facility based on an annual 500 MW capacity.”

In the GCC, Africa and Central Asia countries, AEFP and AIDA have already started a number of projects for the development of solar plants.

Energy firm AEFP has many ongoing solar projects in the UAE as well as ongoing Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) discussions across the MENA, Pakistan, India and Africa to the tune of 1GW. By the end of 2020, the group expects to generate 2GW of photovoltaic panels.

In the next five years, MENA's investment in the energy sector is expected to be $ 187 billion, of which $ 83 billion will account for renewable energy.