UPDATE - Engie locks financing, EPC contract for 60 MW of solar in Senegal

Engie SA (EPA:ENGI) and its partners, French fund manager Meridiam and Senegalese wealth sovereign fund FONSIS, have closed financing for two solar photovoltaic (PV) projects totalling 60 MW in Senegal, the energy group confirmed on Friday.

For the two projects, worth EUR 47.5 million (USD 53.3m) combined, the trio secured senior loans of EUR 38 million. The financial backers are the European Investment Bank (EIB), the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and French development finance institution Proparco.

Engie will also build and manage the future solar farms under engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operation and maintenance (O&M) contracts it signed with its partners.

Engie and Meridiam each hold a 40% stake in the project company, while FONSIS owns the remaining 20%.

The two solar farms will be located in Senegal’s Kaolack and Diourbel regions. Both projects are part of the Scaling Solar initiative, a World Bank Group programme that helps governments in emerging markets organise streamlined tender processes and procurement of solar power. In Senegal, the country’s Regulatory Commission for Electricity Sector (CRSE) and the IFC selected the bid from the Engie-Meridiam consortium in the October 2017 tender.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.12)

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