Ethiopia has agreed a deal with a Dubai renewables developer AMEA to develop the Horn of Africa’s biggest wind farm.

The letter-of-award was signed by Ahmed Shide, Ethiopia’s finance minister, and AMEA Power in Dubai during the COP28 climate change summit.

The 300MW Aysha Wind Power Project, which is expected to cost $620m, will be financed, built and operated by AMEA on the basis of a 25-year power purchase agreement with state-owned utility Ethiopian Electric Power.

AMEA said the 18,000ha project is expected to generate 1,400GWh a year, powering some 4 million households and cutting carbon emissions by 690,000 tonnes.

During the construction and operation phases, the project is expected to create more than 1,500 direct jobs.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Shide said the project would be “a cornerstone of Ethiopia’s energy policy”.

He said: “This project is not just about generating power, it’s about energising our future through sustainable green development.”

He said the project would catalyse community development, enhance industrial productivity and stimulate technological advances.

The scheme will be built in northeast Ethiopia’s Somali province

Hussain Al Nowais, the chair of AMEA, added that Aysha was a milestone for his company.

He said the choice of Somali province, which Addis Ababa has earmarked to become a future logistics and industrial hub, would enhance its role in Ethiopia’s industrial development.

The letter of intent follows the signing of a preliminary agreement in December.