RABAT - Chinese firm Sepco III has signed a deal to build a 318 megawatt coal-fired plant in eastern Morocco, the state power utility ONEE said Friday in a statement.

The total project cost more than $360 million and will be funded primarily by the Chinese Exim Bank, the statement added.

The choice of Sepco III has been made in view of the economic competitiveness of its supply and its technical and environmental technology it will implement for the construction of the plant, added the statement.

The plant will be built in the city of Jerada near the Algerian border, a former coal mines hub closed in 2001, and will start operating by the end of 2016.

The statement added that this new plant is part of the master plan to cope with the rapid growth in electricity demand in the country which is around 10 percent annually.