PAKISTAN — Pakistani nationals are set to start enjoying increased access to cheaper and cleaner electricity. This is after the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, led the financing of a first-of-its-kind program to build six wind power projects in Pakistan, named the Super Six.
The project with a total investment of US$450 million, will help deliver cleaner, cheaper power to meet the country’s critical demand for energy and reduce reliance on expensive imported fossil fuels.
As part of the program, IFC is providing a financing package of US$320 million, comprising US$86 million from its own account and US$234 million mobilized from other lenders, which include Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG, part of KfW Group of Germany), and local banks Bank Alfalah, Bank Al Habib and Meezan Bank.
The Super Six plants, with a combined capacity of 310 megawatts will be built in the Jhimpir wind corridor in Sindh province and are expected to deliver among the lowest cost power generation in the country to date.
A statement from IFC noted that the cost of power from the Super Six projects is expected to be more than 40 percent lower than the current average cost of generation, a move that is expected to spur more investments in renewable energy in the country.
The wind power plants will also generate more than 1,000 gigawatt hours of electricity annually, enough to power 450,000 homes.
IFC says that all Super Six projects are being developed by domestic companies: ACT Group, Artistic Milliners (Private) Limited, Din Group, Gul Ahmed Group and Younus Brothers Group and are expected to lead to emission reductions of about 650,000 tons of CO2 per year.
The projects are being implemented at a time when the Pakistani government is aiming to increase the non-hydro renewable energy share in the overall generation mix from 4 percent to 20 percent by 2025.
IFC’s Vice President for Asia and Pacific, Nena Stoiljkovic said, “This additional clean power will help meet growing demand, reduce the average cost of electricity, and improve both reliability and security of supply.”
“We hope this will send a strong signal to the private sector that the renewable energy market in Pakistan is viable and sustainable, as well as beneficial to the Pakistani people.”
