Jordan Islamic Bank Inaugurates its Solar Power Plant

Manama - Jordan Islamic Bank (JIB), one of the subsidiary banking units of AlBaraka Banking Group (ABG), held an inauguration ceremony of its solar power station under the patronage of Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank (JIB) and President & Chief Executive of Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG) in the presence of the members of the Board of Directors, Mr. Musa Shihadeh, General Manager of JIB , Executive Management ,senior officials, Public Security, dignitaries and businessmen of Sahab region, Abdullah II Industrial City, the Bank's clients and the various media at the site of the Bank's Bonded Center in Sahab, King Abdullah II Industrial City on 25/7/2018.

On this occasion, Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif expressed his great pride for this new achievement by inaugurating a special power station for solar power generation to cover 75% of the consumption of the Bank's branches, offices and administrations in Amman, Zarqa, Madaba and Balqa and 100% of the consumption of 38 branches and offices of the bank in addition to the buildings of the head office. He commended the special efforts of the Renewable Energy Structures Company (one of the companies of Al Maani Group) , Bitar Engineering Consultants in the Engineering Consultancy and the Jordan Electric Power Company and all those who contributed to the implementation of this station in various stages, where latest technology was used to build this station which is considered also a practical application of JIB ‘s assuming its social, economic and developmental responsibilities and a contribution to supporting the economy, national industry ,development , social security and its components through finding alternative and environmentally safe sources of energy to meet the various challenges.

In a welcoming speech at the ceremony, Mr. Musa Shihadeh said “This station comes in line with the strategic sustainability plan of our bank, relying on 50% of the bank's consumption of renewable energy, protecting the environment , reducing the negative impact on it, and supporting the national economy through the Bank's continued adoption of alternative energy-saving projects at its headquarters, to be the first Jordanian bank introduce solar energy to its business since 2013 to reach currently 21 branches. Work is underway to establish a station of energy generating in Irbid to cover the electricity consumption of JIB’s branches, and offices at the Northern Governorates (Irbid, Ramtha, Jerash, Ajloun and Mafraq), and it will be inaugurated early next year, God willing. JIB replaced traditional lightening units with energy-saving lightening units (LED), used Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems, installed water-saving tools in the bank’s buildings. Our bank also supported the national program to enable multiple parties (schools, mosques and others) to cover their needs of electricity with clean and inexpensive technology.”

Shihadeh said that the bank offers financial and advisory solutions to enable citizens to obtain their needs by providing financing for projects that are environmentally friendly, suitable and at a lower cost, thereby enhancing environmental behavior and motivating the various sectors to adopt a sustainable approach to environmental conservation including the financing of hybrid and electric cars and the launch of “our Sun” product to finance renewable energy systems for individuals and companies to install renewable energy systems, and our bank has implemented financing for power generation projects using cells in the form of Islamic financing (Istisna'a contract) for example, the financing of the Islamic Charity Center for about five million dinars. In addition, our bank signed agreements to support renewable energy projects with the Energy Conservation Fund and Jordan Loan Guarantee Company to ensure the risks of renewable energy financing to individuals, government institutions and small, medium and large enterprises.

On his part, Eng. Hani Al-Bitar from Bitar Engineering Consultants provided a detailed explanation of the stages of establishing the plant. The area of the project is 45 dunums and the size of the plant is 20 thousand square meters above five hanager and with a generating capacity of 2.7 megawatts peak.The plant is considered the largest roof-top project in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan where the site has been optimally invested (construct open Hanagers for Bonded, multi-purpose underground warehouses and construction of the plant above the Hanagers. Work on the plant took about nine months to complete and it is estimated to have a life span of approximately 25 years. The cost of constructing the plant is approximately one million four hundred thousand Jordanian Dinars and the cost recovery period of the plant is estimated to be approximately one and a half years.        The plant produced from the date of its actual operation on 21/5/2018 until 21/7/2018, about (800,330 kW) and a saving of approximately (228) thousand JD. A video of the station's construction stages was also shown.

The attendees commended this achievement of Jordan Islamic Bank in supporting the national economy and community development by achieving qualitative achievements and launching initiatives that serve Jordan economically, developmentally and socially.

Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C. (“ABG”) is licensed as an Islamic wholesale bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain and is listed on Bahrain Bourse and Nasdaq Dubai stock exchanges. It is a leading international Islamic banking group providing its unique services in countries with a population totaling around one billion.

Al Baraka offers retail, corporate, treasury and investment banking services, strictly in accordance with the principles of the Islamic Shari'a. The authorized capital of ABG is US$ 2.5 billion.

The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of subsidiary banking units and representative offices in 16 countries, which in turn provide their services through over 700 branches. Al Baraka currently has a strong presence in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan, Bahrain, Pakistan, South Africa, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Morocco, in addition to one branch in Iraq and two representative offices in Indonesia and Libya.

© Press Release 2018