The Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has signed a deal to build a 250 megawatt coal-fired plant in Senegal.

Senegal’s public utility firm, Senelec, said in a statement on Thursday that the KEPCO project alone will provide half of Senegal's energy needs. The firm expects it will take about four years and six months to complete construction, and will cost about 590 million U.S. dollars.

The plant will comprise two 125 megawatt units and will be located 30 kilometers west of the Senegalese capital Dakar at Bargny Sendou.

The Senegalese government wants coal to make up 25 percent of Senegal's energy supply by 2017.