Dubai, United Arab Emirates; May 10, 2022: AMEA Power, a leading renewable energy company, has officially reached financial close on the Zina solar power plant in Burkina Faso, with an installed capacity of 26.6MW. When commissioned, this will be the company’s second operational solar asset in West Africa.
The solar plant is being built by Zina Solaire, a project company fully owned by AMEA Power, and is located 185km from the capital city Ouagadougou, in the village of Zina in the Mouhoun province. This will supply clean and affordable power to more than 43,000 people. Zina Solaire has signed a 25–year power purchase agreement with SONABEL, the national utility company, under a public–private partnership framework. Furthermore, the solar plant is expected to avoid the emission of 13,200 tonnes of CO2 per year.
AMEA Power has invested directly in various community initiatives in the Mouhoun province, which has positively impacted more than 2,500 families. These initiatives included supporting the local communities during the Covid–19 pandemic by providing them with essential food and hygiene products, and providing financial literacy training programs to local community members.
The Zina solar project is financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the IFC–Canada Climate Change Program and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a member of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG).
Hussain AlNowais, Chairman of AMEA Power, commented: “We would like to extend our congratulations to all parties involved. We support Burkina Faso’s drive to turn to solar as a vital measure to boost the energy supply and to reduce the country’s reliance on the importation of fossil fuels for power generation.
AMEA Power has invested directly in various community initiatives in the Mouhoun province, which has positively impacted more than 2,500 families. These initiatives included supporting the local communities during the Covid–19 pandemic by providing them with essential food and hygiene products, and providing financial literacy training programs to local community members.
The Zina solar project is financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the IFC–Canada Climate Change Program and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a member of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG).
Hussain AlNowais, Chairman of AMEA Power, commented: “We would like to extend our congratulations to all parties involved. We support Burkina Faso’s drive to turn to solar as a vital measure to boost the energy supply and to reduce the country’s reliance on the importation of fossil fuels for power generation.
The country is looking to add more than 500MW of capacity by 2025, and AMEA Power is pleased to be part of the country’s journey to provide clean, affordable and reliable energy to the people of Burkina Faso. As we continue to grow across our target markets, we are pleased to announce this important milestone in West Africa.”
Linda Munyengeterwa, IFC’s Regional Industry Director for Infrastructure in Africa, commented: “Once built, the Zina solar project will provide affordable, clean power to thousands of homes and businesses by leveraging Burkina Faso’s abundant solar resources. IFC’s investment in the project is testimony to its sustained commitment to Burkina Faso’s power sector and to its support for private sector investment in the Sahel.”
Paromita Chatterjee, an Investment Director at EAIF’s managers, Ninety One, says: “This is a project of fundamental importance to Burkina Faso. It will improve the lives and prospects of many people over many years. PIDG and EAIF provide a range of corporate and project finance products for infrastructure development, but we never forget that our core objective is contributing towards building better lives for people, families, and communities. The new plant will produce power for the people.”
Linda Munyengeterwa, IFC’s Regional Industry Director for Infrastructure in Africa, commented: “Once built, the Zina solar project will provide affordable, clean power to thousands of homes and businesses by leveraging Burkina Faso’s abundant solar resources. IFC’s investment in the project is testimony to its sustained commitment to Burkina Faso’s power sector and to its support for private sector investment in the Sahel.”
Paromita Chatterjee, an Investment Director at EAIF’s managers, Ninety One, says: “This is a project of fundamental importance to Burkina Faso. It will improve the lives and prospects of many people over many years. PIDG and EAIF provide a range of corporate and project finance products for infrastructure development, but we never forget that our core objective is contributing towards building better lives for people, families, and communities. The new plant will produce power for the people.”
About AMEA Power
Headquartered in Dubai, AMEA Power acquires, develops, owns and operates clean power generation assets in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The company has built a strong pipeline across technologies and at different stages of development in emerging markets. AMEA Power is led by a highly experienced international team with a proven track record in the power sector.
AMEA Power has renewable energy projects in operation and late stage developments in over 15 countries, including Jordan, Togo, Tunisia, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Chad, Mali, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. In 2021, the company commissioned three renewable energy projects; a 50MW solar power plant in Togo, a 50MW wind project and a 50MW solar power plant in Jordan.
In addition, AMEA Power is awaiting financial close on 1,000MW of wind and solar projects in Egypt imminently. This will bring the company’s aggregated capacity to more than 2,000MW of projects in operation, construction and advanced development.
Since its inception, AMEA Power continues to be on track to become one of the fastest–growing renewable energy Independent Power Producers (IPPs), with additional projects set to achieve financial close imminently. For more information, please visit: www.ameapower.com
About IFC
International Finance Corporation—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. The institution works in more than 100 countries, using their capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2021, IFC committed a record $31.5 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of the COVID–19 pandemic.
For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
About EAIF
The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund is a member of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). EAIF provides a variety of debt products to infrastructure projects promoted mainly by private sector businesses in Africa and parts of the Levant. The Fund mobilises private sector capital for investment in new infrastructure across Africa. Its core objective is to promote economic development, leading to sustained economic stability, greater business confidence, job creation and poverty reduction. It has to date supported over 84 completed infrastructure projects across 9 sectors. It has invested over $23.5 million, which has attracted over $1.27 billion of private sector capital. EAIF has backed projects located in 18 African countries, though the Fund’s impact extends to many parts of the continent. This is most notably the case in the digital and telecommunications, ports and energy sectors. Over 147 million people benefit from projects EAIF has supported. EAIF was established and substantially funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden. It raises its debt capital from public and private sources, including Allianz Global Investors, the global insurance and financial services company; Standard Chartered Bank; the African Development Bank; the German development finance institution, KFW,and FMO, the Dutch development bank. EAIF is managed by Ninety One.
About Ninety One
Ninety One is one of the largest third party investors in private equity, credit, public equity and sovereign debt across the African continent. The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) is managed by and fully integrated into Ninety One’s African investment platform. Ninety One manages the entire process on behalf of the EAIF. It markets the Fund, seeks projects, evaluates loan applications, including due diligence, manages transaction administration and monitors the loan portfolio. Since May 2016, when it was awarded the management mandate, Ninety One and its EAIF team have closed over 20 infrastructure transactions with a capital value of USD 650m. The team also led EAIF’s last round of fundraising, raising US$385 million, including US$100 million from Allianz Global Investors and US$50 million from Standard Chartered, a long–standing lender to EAIF.
Ninety One is an independent, active global asset manager listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges. Established in South Africa in 1991, as Investec Asset Management, the firm was a pioneer in emerging markets in Africa. In 2020, almost three decades of organic growth later, the firm de–merged from Investec Group and became Ninety One. Today, Ninety One offers distinctive, active strategies across equities, fixed income, multi–asset and alternative investments to institutions, advisors and individual investors around the world. www.ninetyone.com
Ninety One is an independent, active global asset manager listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges. Established in South Africa in 1991, as Investec Asset Management, the firm was a pioneer in emerging markets in Africa. In 2020, almost three decades of organic growth later, the firm de–merged from Investec Group and became Ninety One. Today, Ninety One offers distinctive, active strategies across equities, fixed income, multi–asset and alternative investments to institutions, advisors and individual investors around the world. www.ninetyone.com
About the IFC–Canada Climate Change Program
The IFC–Canada Climate Change Program promotes private sector financing for clean energy projects and received funding under Canada’s fast–start financing to catalyze investments in renewable, low–carbon technologies that would not otherwise happen.
For more information on Canada’s investment in global climate change action, visit:
Previous article
AMEA Power Signs Power Purchase Agreement and Concession Agreement for 50MW Solar Power Project in Togo
Dubai, United Arab Emirates; December 4, 2019: AMEA Power has signed a concession agreement with […]
AMEA Power signs Power Purchase Agreements for Renewable Energy Projects in Egypt
Dubai, United Arab Emirates; December 16, 2019: AMEA Power (a subsidiary of Al Nowais Investments […]
AMEA Power in Partnership with TBEA Wins Bid for 100MW Solar Project in Tunisia
Dubai, United Arab Emirates; December 19, 2019: The Ministry of Industry and SMEs of Tunisia […]