ADB Lends $4mn For A Solar Project in Kandahar

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has issued a $4 million loan to Barakat Kandahar Solar Energy for the development of a 15.1MW solar power plant.

The aid is aimed at helping the Afghan government to achieve the goal of generating 40% share/5,000MW of the country’s total energy capacity from solar by 2032.

The company will generate 27.5GW of electricity and as a result avoid 8,5000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per annum.

The 15.1 MW solar power project will generate about 27.5 GWh of electricity annually and avoid 8,500 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. It will also help lift the share of renewable energy in the country’s total installed power generation capacity up to 5,000 MW by 2032

ADB will also administer a $3.85 million loan from the Canadian Climate Fund for Private Sector in Asia II (CFPS II) for the project. CFPS II was established in March 2017 to support greater private sector participation in climate change mitigation and adaptation in low and lower-middle-income countries in Asia and the Pacific.

“Having a stable, sustainable, and reliable energy source is important for the growth and development prospects of Afghanistan, where power generation and access is one of the lowest in the world,” said Senior Public–Private Partnership specialist at ADB’s Office of Public–Private Partnerships Mr. Mohammed Azim Hashimi. “ADB’s support for this important project will help provide long-term financing that is not available locally to build and operate a state-of-the-art solar power plant in Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan’s solar capacity accounts for 1% (3MW) of the country’s total installed generational capacity of 220,000 MW.