The Government of El Salvador and the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) have signed an agreement to establish a biogas power generation plant on the Acelhuate River, aiming to benefit 1.2 million Salvadorans.
The agreement, signed by high-ranking officials including El Salvador’s Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill, the President of the Executive Hydroelectric Commission of the Lempa River (CEL) Daniel Álvarez, Finance Minister Jerson Posada, and SFD Executive President Sultan Bin Abdulrahman Al-Almarshad, represents a significant step in the bilateral relations between El Salvador and Saudi Arabia.
The $83 million funding from the SFD, complemented by a $15.2 million contribution from CEL, brings the total investment to $98.4 million. This project marks the first collaboration between the two countries following the establishment of El Salvador’s embassy in Saudi Arabia.
“This agreement is no coincidence; the bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and El Salvador are at an excellent stage,” said Foreign Minister Hill. “This demonstrates our deep interest in advancing our bilateral relationship, which will help solidify a strong exchange between our nations.”
Álvarez noted that this project is part of the government’s broader commitment to a cleaner, sustainable, and prosperous future for all Salvadorans. The biogas plant, to be located between Ciudad Delgado and Cuscatancingo in San Salvador, will be the first large-scale intervention in the sanitation of the Urbina, Tomayate, Acelhuate, and Lempa rivers, significantly reducing pollution in three major reservoirs.
The biogas plant will have an installed capacity of 5.43 megawatts (MW), incorporating three technologies: 1.70 MW from biogas, 0.54 MW from a hydroelectric plant, and 3.19 MW from photovoltaic energy. This initiative will treat 70% of the wastewater from the San Salvador metropolitan area using energy-generating processes, with over 85% of the produced electricity being fed into the national grid.