In response to claims in recent press reports, a spokesperson for the Public Investment Fund (PIF) said that the Wall Street Journal article titled ‘Saudi Arabia Shelves Work on SoftBank’s $200 Billion Solar Project’ is inaccurate.
The spokesperson added that the Public Investment Fund continues to work with the SoftBank Vision Fund, and other parties, on a number of large-scale, multi-billion dollar projects relating to the solar industry, which will be announced in due course. The announcement in March 2018 clearly stated that this includes solar generation projects and joint plans to develop large-scale solar panels manufacturing facilities in Saudi Arabia for solar power generation. This will be complemented by R&D and training components. These plans to develop a leading champion for the industry remain on-track and in-line with the timeline that would be anticipated for projects of this scale and ambition.
Alongside this, the Kingdom is moving forward with the overall renewable energy strategy, through which Saudi Arabia aims to be a leading and reliable diversified supplier of renewable energy. In line with Vision 2030, the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources is undertaking a program in coordination with the Kingdom’s stakeholders to transform the power sector, and ensure it is more competitive, efficient and sustainable, underpinned by a strong pipeline for private sector participation.
