(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Co. is in talks with Turkey about investing in the country’s green-energy industry, according to Turkish officials familiar with the negotiations.
Turkey’s Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz told a local news channel over the weekend that a “Saudi-owned company” had expressed interest in investing $5 billion in energy and other sectors. The talks are between ACWA Power and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the officials said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. It’s not clear how far those talks have advanced.
“We are in discussions with the Turkish counter-parties as part of our business development in the region, but we cannot elaborate more at this point,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. The Turkish Presidency and the ministry declined to comment.
Should an investment materialize, it would strengthen economic ties between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The two countries announced their intention to cooperate more in renewable energy, construction, defense and tourism following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Jeddah last year.
ACWA Power, 44% owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is central to the kingdom’s ambitions to become a heavyweight in solar energy. Ankara is seeking to attract more foreign investment in its energy infrastructure, particularly in renewable projects, as it looks to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels.
The Saudi company announced its first project in Turkey about a decade ago, a 950-megawatt combined cycle natural gas plant in the central Anatolian city of Kirikkale.
--With assistance from Fahad Abuljadayel.
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