EGP said the $98m project will sell its output to Uruguayan utility UTE under a 20-year deal.

The wind farm is sited in the Cerro Largo area, about 320km from the capital, Montevideo.

No schedule was given for completion of the project, which uses turbines from Germany's Nordex.

Francesco Venturini, Enel Green Power's CEO, said: “The start of work on the Melowind plant, together with the opening of EGP offices in the country, mark our entry into the promising market of Uruguay, a country with abundant natural resources, rapid economic and demographic growth and a stable regulatory framework.”