South Korea’s Hanwha Energy Corp. said Wednesday it has won a bid to build a 48-megawatt solar power plant in Malaysia, the first Korean firm to secure such an order from the Southeast Asian country.

Under the project led by Malaysia’s state-owned utility firm Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the plant will be located in Perlis, Malaysia’s smallest state on the northwestern coast that lies on the border of Thailand.

The company is to begin construction in July 2019 with an aim to start commercial operation in October 2020.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The new plant will generate 48 MW of electricity, enough to power 15,000 households, the company said.

Hanwha Energy is to partner with a Malay firm to set up a special purpose company that will sign a power purchase agreement with TNB.

The Korean company will be in charge of investment, financing, procurement and operation and in return will pocket the profits for 21 years.

Hanwha Q Cells, another solar power unit of Hanwha Group, would supply all the solar panels for the project.

By Moon Ji-woong and Kim Hyo-jin

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