UAE-based Global South Utilities, an energy and water infrastructure company, is boosting its solar power generation capacity in Yemen to provide electricity to thousands of homes amid growing power challenges in the country.
The company on Friday inaugurated a 53-megawatt solar power project in Ataq City in the Shabwah governorate, developed in collaboration with Yemen’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy, it said in a statement.
The plant is expected to generate about 118,642 megawatt-hours of electricity annually – enough to power 330,000 households – while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 62,727 tonnes a year.
Electricity from the plant will “fully meet” the needs of Ataq City and the surrounding districts of Al Saeed, Al Musayniah, Jardan, Nisab, Markhah and Habban, powering homes, schools and healthcare facilities, said GSU, which is owned by Abu Dhabi-based investment company Resources Investment.
The project will also feature a 15-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system to stabilise supply during peak demand. Infrastructure works include 85,644 solar panels, six transformer stations, a central monitoring and control building, and a 15km overhead transmission line connecting the plant to the national grid through 51 towers.
The Shabwah plant contributes to expanding reliable, clean power access in Yemen’s urban and rural communities, said Ali Alshimmari, chief executive and managing director of GSU. He added that such renewable energy investments are vital to improving quality of life, reducing fuel dependence and building climate resilience in the country.
In a separate statement, GSU said it would double capacity at the Aden solar PV plant, “Yemen’s first and largest solar power facility”, to 240MW after the second phase began.
Located in Bir Ahmed, the plant began operations with 120MW in its first phase. Commercial operations as part of the next phase are scheduled for 2026, GSU said.
Once operational, the second phase, which will comprise more than 194,000 solar panels, will generate about 247,462 megawatt-hours annually, enough to power 687,000 homes.
“Combined with phase one, the facility will cut almost 285,000 tonnes of annual carbon dioxide emissions – equivalent to removing more than 85,000 cars from the road,” GSU said.
The expansion will “strengthen energy security in Yemen, reduce reliance on imported fuel, and improve air quality”, the company added.
Yemen has been struggling with an electricity crisis, having been mired in conflict for more than a decade, after the Iran-backed Houthis launched attacks on internationally recognised central government. A fragile truce was enacted in 2022, although it has since expired.
As of June this year, Aden’s power grid was delivering less than four hours of electricity a day, with 85 per cent of neighbourhoods experiencing blackouts lasting up to 20 hours, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
Widespread damage to infrastructure, including the country’s electricity grid, has “plunged millions into darkness, and crippled access to essential services like healthcare, education and clean water”, the UN said. Many households and businesses rely on expensive generators for energy, which further strains an already dire economic situation.
Real GDP per capita in Yemen has declined by 58 per cent since 2015, while inflation in areas controlled by the internationally recognised government exceeded 30 per cent in 2024, the World Bank said in a June report. While increased budget support and spending cuts helped narrow the fiscal deficit to 2.5 per cent last year, down from 7.2 per cent in 2023, the “economic environment remains fragile”, it added.
The outlook for 2025 also remains bleak, with real GDP projected to contract by 1.5 per cent, while nominal GDP per capita is expected to drop by 19 per cent.
“Continued fiscal strain, currency depreciation, liquidity shortages, and fuel disruptions will likely deepen economic vulnerabilities,” the report said.
The UN has initiated projects with international partners to support Yemen's energy crisis. Through funding from the EU and Sweden's government, the UN Development Programme has undertaken decentralised off-grid initiatives, with a focus on solar power.
About 152 public service facilities, including schools, healthcare centres, and local administration offices received solar energy equipment since 2023, the UNDP said in January.
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Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
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The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure'
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
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Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports
Company%20Profile
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
