The first shale oil-fuelled power plant in Jordan will be ready by the end of 2018, a report said, adding it is expected to cut the country's energy spending by $500 million annually.

The $2.2 billion plant will have a total capacity of 470 megawatts (MW) and  will use Jordan’s reserves of oil shale estimated at more than 70 billion tonnes, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Mohammad Hamed was quoted as saying in the Jordan Times report.

He was speaking at a press conference after signing a 30-year power purchase agreement with Enefit (Eesti Energia AS), YTL Power International Berhad and Near East Investments, who will build the power plant.

The project will create 3,000 jobs during the construction phase and 700 jobs for ongoing operations, added Hamed.

"The project will greatly help in Jordan's efforts to reduce energy imports from 97 per cent of its needs currently to 60 per cent by 2020," Hamed noted, highlighting that the plant is the first of its kind in the region.