LONDON: A tripartite agreement was signed on Wednesday between the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen, the oil company Petromasila, and Yemen’s Ministry of Energy and Electricity to supply petroleum derivatives for the country’s power plants.

SDRPY is supporting the Yemeni government with an $81.2 million grant to purchase 339 million liters of diesel and mazut from Petromasila to operate more than 70 power plants across various Yemeni governorates.

The grant follows last week’s announcement by the SDRPY of a $506 million aid package to support Yemen’s education, health, government and infrastructure sectors.

The SDRPY highlighted that the grant will improve the reliability of electrical power to critical facilities, including hospitals, medical centers, roads, schools, airports and ports. Additionally, the funding will stimulate the Yemeni economy and support the Central Bank of Yemen by easing the pressure on foreign exchange reserves.

It reduces the Ministry of Finance’s fuel-related financial burden and supports the Ministry of Electricity and Energy in improving the efficiency of power plants in Yemen, the SDRPY said.

In 2018, the SDRPY provided $180 million, in addition to $422 million in 2021 and another $200 million in 2022, as grants to Yemen to purchase oil derivatives and operate vital sectors of the country.