UAE firm to develop $5bn solar scheme in Bangladesh
The 5GW project is backed by the Arab Investment Development Authority and will be completed by 2030
The UAE’s Almaden Emirates Fortune Power and Bangladesh’s Intraco Solar Power signed a preliminary agreement this week to develop solar plants backed by investment commitment of $5 billion from the Arab Investment Development Authority.
AIDA, which is supported by the EU and UN has a mandate to develop and finance sovereign projects across the subcontinent, Mena as well as Africa in human development, energy, infrastructure, agriculture as well as technology.
The solar development will be completed over a six or eight year timeline and will see the deployment of 14 million solar panels, with a total capacity of 5 GW, in one of the largest such investments in the sector in Bangladesh.
The project will help reduce electricity generation costs and create jobs from both the power plants and the proposed solar manufacturing facility based on an annual 500 MW capacity, AIDA chairman Adil Al Otaiba.
The development will reach its maximum capacity by 2030. The solar scheme would be a significant addition of power generation capacity to Bangladesh, whose electricity sector is prone to system losses, electricity theft, poor efficiency besides struggling with fund shortages to maintain its plants. The government had in its power sector master plan in 2016 envisioned a potential for renewables to contribute 3.6GW of power generation.
As part of the preliminary agreement, UAE’s Almaden Emirates Fortune Power will along with its Bangladeshi partner and AIDA also work on managing development and transaction teams across geographies and environments.
Dubai-based Safa Capital was the lead financial advisor for the scheme.
Source: thenational.ae
