Togo has floated a tender for two solar PV projects with an estimated capacity ranging between 60-80 MW. The projects in Kpalassi, located in the Kara region, and Salimdè in the central region of the country.

The Togolese government has asked the International Finance Corporation (IFC) acting through its service department to act as the principal transaction advisor.

The last date for the submission of bids is March 30, 2020.

The country will develop the project using the Scaling Solar initiative of the World Bank. The contract will be awarded for 25 years. Scaling Solar is a competitive process aimed at inviting private players to develop large-scale solar power projects in the country. The process allows the launch of projects as soon as possible by offering the developers a set of advisory services, contracts, financing solutions, and insurance.

The tender process will be organized and managed the Togolese Rural Electrification Agency and Renewable Energies (AT2ER) per the provisions of the Environmental and Natural Resources (ENR) Law.

The first step in the Solar Scaling tender is the pre-qualification criteria where the bidders will be scanned based on their experience, expertise, and financial capability to carry out the development of the large-scale solar projects in the country. Only pre-qualified bidders will be allowed to participate in the tender. Interested bidders can obtain a pre-qualification dossier by paying an amount of 1,00,000 Franc CFA (~$169.68).

Earlier, the World Bank approved an International Development Association (IDA) of $150 million (~₹10.6 million) and another $74.7 million (~₹5.28 million) contingent recovery grant from the Clean Technology Fund to help increase off-grid electricity access for people in West Africa and Sahel regions.

Previously, Mercom reported that Togo received a significant boost in the form of $4 million funding to further the development of an energy access drive dubbed the Cizo initiative. The debt finance deal, deemed to be the first of its kind to unlock locally raised capital to finance a government project aimed at improving the quality of life in sub-Saharan Africa, was provided by local bank Union Togolaise de Banque (UTB).