Two clean energy projects backed by the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund took significant steps forward in the last week of June. The 5.4 MW Lubilia Kawembe Hydro (LKH) electricity generating station in Uganda was formally commissioned on 28th June. A day later, on 29th June, a ground-breaking ceremony saw work officially begin on the 40MW Central Solar de Mocuba (CESOM) project in Mozambique.
EAIF is member of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). PIDG encourages and mobilises private investment in infrastructure in the frontier markets of sub-Saharan Africa, south and south-east Asia, to help promote economic development and combat poverty.
The financing of the US$76 million CESCOM project was led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). EAIF signed a Participation Agreement with the IFC to provide a US$16.9 million B Loan, with a 16-year term. In addition, EAIF directly provided a US$7m Viability Gap Funding Grant for the project, raised from the Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) of the PIDG. CESCOM is being developed by the Oslo-based company, Scatec, which has over 1000MW of solar currently under construction around the world.
Output from Mocuba is estimated to be 80,000 megawatt hours per year and account for 4.8% of Mozambique’s currently available electricity capacity, but 40% of the capacity of its Northern grid. The plant will be a core element in the Mozambique government’s strategy of incentivising the creation of small and medium-sized businesses in the mainly rural Mocuba area.
Representatives of Mozambique’s national and local government join staff from CESCOM in placing the first PV pane.
Lubilia Kawembe Hydro
Located in the Rwenzori Mountains in Western Uganda, Lubilia Kawembe Hydro is one of 9 clean energy projects EAIF has helped finance in Uganda.
The power house and control room at Lubilia Kawembe Hydro
FMO, the Dutch development bank, has acted as mandated lead arranger of the US$10.2m senior loan facility, of which 50% was syndicated to EAIF. The project has been developed and will be owned and run by LKH. A Ugandan entity, it is majority owned by DI Frontier Market Energy & Carbon Fund, a Danish private equity fund that is developing a portfolio of renewable energy independent power producers in Eastern Africa.
LKH was developed under the GET FiT facility, which is a dedicated support scheme for renewable energy projects managed by Germany’s KfW Development Bank in partnership with the Government of Uganda through the Electricity Regulatory Agency (ERA). The project is funded by the European Union Infrastructure Trust Fund, and is also supported by the Governments of Norway, Germany and the UK.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
EAIF
Martin Roche +44 771 574 9621
wmartinroche@btinternet.com
PIDG
Ryan Denston +44 (0)20 848 6762
ryan.denston@pidg.org
Investec Asset Management
Vian Sharif +44 207 597 1834
vian.sharif@investecmail.com
Kotie Basson +27 21 416 1812
kotie.basson@investecmail.com
About EAIF
The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund provides a variety of debt products to infrastructure projects promoted mainly by private sector businesses in sub-Saharan Africa. It is part of PIDG. EAIF is substantially funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden. It raises its debt capital from public and private sources, including Allianz, the global insurance and financial services company; Standard Chartered Bank; Chartered Bank; the African Development Bank; the German development finance institution, KFW, and FMO, the Dutch development bank. The Fund helps create the infrastructure framework that is essential to sustained economic stability, business confidence, job creation and poverty reduction. It has to date supported nearly 70 infrastructure projects across eight sectors in 21 sub-Saharan African countries. EAIF is managed by Investec Asset Management.
About PIDG
The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) encourages and mobilises private investment in infrastructure in the frontier markets of sub-Saharan Africa, south and south-east Asia, to help promote economic development and combat poverty. Since 2002, PIDG has supported 170 infrastructure projects to financial close, mobilising $22.9bn in private sector investment and supporting new or improved infrastructure for 231 million people. PIDG is funded by donors from seven countries (UK, Switzerland, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany) and the World Bank Group.
Martin Roche
+44(0)771 574 9621
+44(0)1227 763 755
wmartinroche@btinternet.com
