MARUBENI Caribbean Power Holding (MCPH) has agreed to sell half of its 80 per cent stake in the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) to Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) of the United Arab Emirates.

The announcement comes less than two years after Marubeni acquired majority ownership in the Jamaican light and power company.

TAQA will therefore jointly own 80 per cent of JPS with Marubeni, while the Government of Jamaica will retain its 20 per cent interest.

President of Marubeni Caribbean, Tomofumi f*kuda, said the partnership will bring even greater value to Caribbean utilities, and to JPS in particular.

"JPS and the other Caribbean power companies in which MCPH has a stake will benefit from the depth of knowledge and proven expertise that TAQA has in electricity generation, utility operations and project management. TAQA is bringing to this partnership the same long-term commitment as Marubeni and a keen interest in the growth potential of JPS and the other Caribbean businesses," he said.

He added that the partnership with TAQA will provide JPS with strong support in replacing assets and overhauling the public electricity infrastructure to achieve greater efficiency.

"As JPS continues to work towards becoming more efficient and cost-effective; fuel diversification through new generation facilities, including potential coal, petcoke and natural gas and particularly more renewable energy projects such as wind and hydro, will continue to be among the focus areas of this partnership," said f*kuda.

Finance Minister Audley Shaw, who announced the approval of the sale yesterday, said the deal was welcomed as the investment represented the retirement of old and inefficient power generation units, while adding incremental capacity to the national grid.