State-owned utility Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has signed a SR4.5-billion ($1.2 billion) contract with the US' General Electric to establish the kingdom’s first fossil fuel and solar power plant near the Red Sea port of Dhuba, said a report.

The 600-megawatt (MW) integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) plant will primarily burn natural gas, but will generate 50 MW using solar energy to increase fuel efficiency. It will be commissioned in 2017, reported the Arab News.

The plant will help boost the kingdom's power supply and also enable it to export electricity to Egypt, Turkey and Europe, said the report.

In addition to the establishment of an integrated green power plant, the contract includes construction of supply lines to Tabuk, it added.

“It is the largest environment-friendly project in the kingdom,” the Water and Electricity Minister Abdullah Al-Hussayen was quoted as saying.

The SEC’s chief executive Ziyad Al Shiha was quoted as saying the plant would have three power generating units — two powered by gas and the third by steam — to produce 550 MW in addition to solar energy-powered units to produce 50 MW.