Clifford Chance advised the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on the financing of a greenfield solar photovoltaic plant with a total capacity of 100-megawatt to be located in El Metbassta (Kairouan governorate), 150 km south of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.
The project is developed by UAE-based AMEA Power, one of the fastest growing renewable energy companies in the Middle East.
This landmark project will be the first large-scale, privately financed solar project in Tunisia and one of the largest infrastructure public-private partnership projects in the country in over a decade.
Under the terms of the financing agreements signed on September 26th 2023 at the Government Palace in the Kasbah, lenders are providing circa $52 million, corresponding to 60.4% of the total Project costs estimated at $86 million. Each of the Clean Technology Fund, a program of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) and the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) are also granting a concessionary loan and funding for an amount of circa $13 million each.
Tunisia is one of the region’s most exposed countries to climate change. The country’s overreliance on imported hydrocarbons to meet rising electricity demand has also threatened its energy security and made the sector vulnerable to price and exchange rate fluctuations.
The project is part of a pioneering renewable energy program outlined by the government of Tunisia in 2018 and will enable the country to lower the cost of power generation, bringing clean, renewable energy to its 12 million citizens, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by almost 100,000 tons annually, and accelerate its green transition.
This Project demonstrates Clifford Chance’s commitment to working alongside its clients on much needed and innovative renewable energy projects in Africa.
The Clifford Chance team was led in Paris by Partner Delphine Siino Courtin, with support from senior associate Mehdi Khemakhem and associate Maïlys Attiogbé.
The London office also advised on the construction aspects of this deal with Partner Edward Bretherton and associate Jonathan Forrest.
