British International Investment completes 250 MW RE projects in Pakistan

British International Investment (BII) has said that renewable energy projects that have been supported by it with financing for an aggregate capacity of 250 MW in Pakistan have been completed. Habib Yousuf, Country Director for Pakistan at BII and British Deputy High Commissioner to Karachi, Mike Nithavrianakis joined an event marking the occassion. The projects should be a welcome addition to the energy mix in Pakistan that is heavily distorted towards fossil fuels and large Hydro. Both have been unpredictable in recent months due to a funds crisis and extreme heat, respectively.

The official statement of BII says that a total of four RE projects have commenced operations – one solar power project and three wind energy. They will have a combined capacity of total of 250 MW supplied to the Pakistan national grid and power the equivalent of 440,000 residential consumers.

The RE projects include the Atlas Solar PV project developed by local sponsor Atlas Group, in the province of Punjab. BII provided a US $28 million project finance investment to support the development of an additional 100 MW of clean and affordable power. Habib Bank Limited and BII were joint Mandated Lead Arrangers on the project.

As far as the wind projects are concerned, three 50MW wind farms are in Jhimpir Thatta District, of Sindh province – two of which were developed by Liberty Mills and one by Indus Group. BII invested $82 million across the three 150MW projects. BII states that this wind energy generation will displace fossil fuel-fired power by helping to avoid 296,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum by generation.

BII says that Pakistan is a priority investment market for its project finance offering and climate strategy, which strongly focuses on scaling renewable energy generation to help meet the demand and consumption of clean, safe, and affordable energy across the country. Beyond renewable energy, its project finance team also aims to back other impactful infrastructure sectors, including power transmission and distribution, and water infrastructure.

Mike Nithavrianakis, said, “The UK is committed to helping countries transition to cleaner and greener sources of energy. Pakistan has immense potential in harnessing the wind and sun for its electricity needs and we will continue to work with our partners here to ensure a brighter, lower emissions future for our planet. The UK is delighted to be supporting BII’s partnership with corporate entities in Pakistan in the renewables sector.”

Iain Macaulay, Director and Head of Project Finance, Africa and Pakistan, BII, added, “As a DFI we remain committed to backing climate resilience and green growth across our markets. These four renewable energy projects will help to improve the standard of living in Pakistan and uplift the lives of hundreds of thousands of consumers.”