Silk Road Fund (SRF), a state-owned investment fund of the Chinese government, has achieved an agreement with Saudi-based Acwa Power to buy 49 per cent of the shares in its renewable energy platform. The SRF is a medium to long term development and investment fund set up in Beijing under the framework of “Belt and Road Initiative”.

It’s an open philosophy, with inclusiveness and mutual benefit; it operates its business based on market principles, international standard and professional excellence. Acwa Power said together with the Chinese fund it had earlier co-invested in two UAE-based projects, including the 2400MW Hassyan clean coal power plant and the 950MW Hybrid CSP and PV fourth phase of MBR Solar Park to respectively power 1.3 million people and 320,00 residential homes.

Announcing SRF as a partner and shareholder in Acwa Power’s renewable energy platform that currently owns a number of its existing renewable energy projects, the Saudi group said with these move new doors of collaboration and projects are opening up.

Acwa Power RenewCo acts as a platform that focuses on the rapidly growing potential for renewable energy in emerging markets. It will own Acwa Power’s CSP, PV, and wind assets across the UAE, South Africa, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco, resulting into an aggregate capacity of 1668 MW.

Chief Investment Officer Rajit Nanda said: "As a leading developer of power and water assets in the region, and being based in a Belt and Road country, approaching SRF on board as a shareholder further cements our position of being able to support both the economic transformation envisioned by the Belt and Road initiative as well as Saudi Arabia’s forward looking Vision 2030."