The construction of the 100 MW Shanghai Lingang Distributed Solar Power project has begun in Shanghai, China. The project is being funded by BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) and will be installed on factory rooftops in the Lingang industrial area of Shanghai.

The NDB is providing a $76 million loan with a maturity period of 17 years to Shanghai Lingang Distributed Solar Power project. This is the first project funded by NDB for which construction work has begun.

The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in their regions and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development. To fulfill its purpose, the NDB will support public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments.

According to the NDB’s general strategy for 2017 to 2021, sustainable infrastructure development will be the primary emphasis of the bank’s operations in the next five years.

In August 2017, the NDB approved four infrastructure and sustainable development projects in China, India and Russia with loans aggregating over $1.4 billion.

“To date, the Board of Directors of NDB has approved 11 projects with loans aggregating over $3 billion,” said the NDB President Mr. K.V.Kamath, at an agreement signing ceremony in Xiamen, China. “We hope that the projects supported by the bank will act as catalysts for development and benefit the lives of people in our member states,” added Mr. Kamath.

NDB’s involvement in renewable energy infrastructure development bodes well for India, as it opens a new avenue of finance for project development. It has been two years since NDB’s inception and it has invested over $3 billion. The bank was launched with initial capital of $50 billion.

Image credit: NDB