Reports: Emiratis to build solar power station in Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria says the government has signed a contract with a group of companies from the United Arab Emirates to build a solar power station in a suburb of the capital of Damascus. Thursday’s announcement follows a meeting this week between the UAE foreign minister and Syria’s President Bashar Assad in Damascus, the first such visit since the Syrian conflict started a decade ago. Syrian state-run media say the station will be finished in two years and will generate 300 megawatts at peak rates. The reports didn’t say how much the construction would cost but added that it will save 125,000 tons of fuel annually.