Samsung C&T CEO Oh Se-chul, back left, poses for a picture with the president of QatarEnergy, back right, as they watch their representatives sign a mega solar power deal at QatarEnergy's headquarters in Doha, Aug. 23. Courtesy of Samsung C&T

By Kim Jae-heun

Local builder Samsung C&T won an 800 billion won ($630 million) deal to build two solar power facilities with a total power generation capacity of 875 megawatts in Qatar, the company said Wednesday. Samsung C&T will carry out the project for state-run energy company QatarEnergy alone.

It will construct two facilities in Mesaieed and Ras Laffan that will have capacities up to 417 megawatts and 458 megawatts, respectively.

The Korean builder will build the two facilities on about 10 square kilometers of land, which is equivalent to 1,400 football fields combined. It said 1.6 million solar panels will be installed there.

Construction will begin next month for completion expected in November 2024. Once the project finishes, the solar facilities will provide power for energy-related facilities and the national power grid in the industrial complex owned by QatarEnergy.

At the same time, Samsung C&T is currently building an LNG terminal in Qatar for 2.4 trillion won. The company already has experience in carrying out a number of large-scale power plant construction projects and it has connections with overseas partners worldwide.

"Following the successful construction of solar facilities in Guam, the company has been recognized as a global builder in the field of renewable energy generation to win the bid to build large-scale solar facilities in Qatar," a Samsung C&T official said. "In the future, we are planning to expand our value chain by not only building more renewable energy facilities but participating in business management as well."