Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has refuted media reports claiming that work has been shelved with respect to SoftBank Solar Projects and said the reports are completely inaccurate.  

PIF is a sovereign wealth fund owned by Saudi Arabia, founded for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia.

A spokesperson for PIF said the fund continues to work with the SoftBank Vision Fund, and other parties, on a number of large-scale, multi-billion-dollar projects relating to the solar industry, which will be announced in due course.

The announcement in March clearly stated that this includes solar generation projects and joint plans to develop large-scale solar panels manufacturing facilities in Saudi Arabia for solar power generation, the spokesman said.

"This will be complemented by R&D and training components. These plans to develop a leading champion for the industry remain on-track and in-line with the timeline that would be anticipated for projects of this scale and ambition," the spokesman said.  

Alongside this, the kingdom is moving forward with the overall renewable energy strategy, through which Saudi Arabia aims to be a leading and reliable diversified supplier of renewable energy, a press statement said.

In line with Vision 2030, the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources is undertaking a programme in coordination with the kingdom's stakeholders to transform the power sector, and ensure it is more competitive, efficient and sustainable, underpinned by a strong pipeline for private sector participation, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service