Japan Bank for International Cooperation has signed a project loan with Riyah Al Sahil Company for the Yanbu onshore wind farm project.

The US$152 million JBIC loan is co-financed with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and Bank of China, bringing the total co-financing amount to US$305 million.

The Al Sahil shareholders are Marubeni Corporation and Abdul Aziz Al Ajlan Sons Co. for Commercial and Real Estate Investment – Ajlan & Bros.

The Al Sahil Independent Power Producer ( IPP ) project will build, own, and operate a 700 MW onshore wind farm in Yanbu, Al Madinah Province, Saudi Arabia. The offtaker is Saudi Power Procurement Company, under a 25-year agreement.

The project is part of the National Renewable Energy Program ( NREP ), which is supervised by the Ministry of Energy of Saudi Arabia, aiming to achieve approximately 50% of its total power generation capacity from renewable energy and energy storage systems sources by 2030, subject to electricity demand growth.

JBIC noted that under the Infrastructure System Overseas Promotion Strategy 2030, approved by the Ministerial Meeting on Strategy relating to Infrastructure Export and Economic Cooperation in December 2024, the Japanese government views social transformations the world is facing, such as green initiatives and decarbonisation, as opportunities for growth.

The Seventh Strategic Energy Plan, approved by the Cabinet in February 2025, set the goal of helping to achieve global decarbonisation by utilizing various Japanese technologies tailored to the resource endowment, industrial structure, and energy mix of each country.

The loan is in line with these policies of the government and will support long-term overseas infrastructure projects involving the Japanese company, which is engaged in renewable energy initiatives both domestically and internationally. By further developing the expertise of Japanese companies, it will contribute toward maintaining and improving the international competitiveness of Japanese industry, and ultimately toward the enhancement of Japan’s economic security.

Saudi Arabia is a key exporter of oil to Japan. JBIC said that the two countries plan to strengthen their partnership in energy and other sectors, including the signing of a memorandum of understanding on establishing the Strategic Partnership Council in February 2025.