KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 15): Citaglobal Bhd (KL:CITAGLB) said on Friday it has signed an agreement to build a 5.4-megawatt solar plant integrated with a battery energy storage system in Azerbaijan.

The facility will supply power to the Port of Baku, according to a statement from Citaglobal. The project is backed by a 21-year power purchase agreement that guarantees a fixed tariff, the company said.

The value of the project and details such as tariff and timeline were not disclosed.

The project will proceed in phases, with the first phase focusing on rooftop solar photovoltaic installations. Later phases will introduce larger, ground-mounted systems, coupled with deployment of battery energy storage system, Citaglobal said.

“The solution that we are implementing not only maximises clean energy use on-site but does so at a cost competitive tariff,” said Citaglobal executive chairman and president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria.

The project also marks the first overseas green energy project for Citaglobal, which derived more than half of its revenue in 2023 from engineering and construction. Its energy segment only made up 12% of its revenue with the rest from manufacturing and property development.

The project will be led by Tiza Green Energy LLC, a joint venture between Citaglobal Tiza Global Azerbaijan LLC. Shareholding details of the joint venture were also not disclosed.

“Our strategy is to achieve zero emissions by 2035, and I am confident that our partnership with Tiza Green Energy will position us as leaders in sustainable practices, significantly reducing our Scope 2 emissions,” said Port of Baku director general Taleh Ziyadov in the same statement.

The 400-hectare port, located just 70km off Azerbaijan’s capital city of Baku, is part of the Trans-Caspian international transport route that facilitates trade and logistics across Eurasia.  

Shares of Citaglobal rose 1.1% to close at 90 sen on Friday, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM382 million.