The giant project incorporating 768 linear cylindrical-parabolic collectors is now under construction at Madinat Zayed, a city to the southwest of the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi, announced the renewables offshoot of the Italian energy provider.

Scheduled to complete in 2012, the plant is set become the largest single field of CSP mirrors in the world, covering 2.5 square kilometres of desert.

Total and Abengoa were selected to build the facility, in which they each hold 20 percent, with Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) holding the remaining 60 percent.