Early Warning System

Regions

Middle East and North Africa

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Countries

Tunisia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Specific Location

Ksar, Governorate of Gafsa

Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Proposed

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Nov 11, 2025

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Qair International SAS

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Energy

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Loan

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 22.25 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 19
Converted using 2025-10-06 exchange rate.

Loan Amount (USD)

$ 22.25 million

Project Cost (USD)

$ 98.36 million

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Oct 7, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Oct 6, 2025

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Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the EBRD, the project consists of the provision of senior debt financing of up to EUR 19.0 million to fund the construction and operation of a 100 MW solar photovoltaic plant and its associated transmission infrastructure, located in the governorate of Gafsa in Tunisia. The electricity produced by the Project will be sold to Societe Tunisienne de l'Electricite et du Gaz ("STEG") the off-taker for the Project under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement. The Project will benefit from a grant of up to EUR 3 million from the EU Neighbourhood Investment Platform (EU NIP) to cover part of the cost of the transmission infrastructure. In addition, it will receive a first-loss risk guarantee from the European Fund for Sustainable Development plus (EFSD+) Hi-Bar guarantee programme. This programme contributes to projects in the European Neighbourhood supporting sustainable investments in energy transition.

The Project will support the country in meeting its declared renewable energy (RE) target - 35% of electricity generation by 2030 - and will be a strong demonstration effect of the contribution of the private sector in the energy transition of Tunisia.

The Project will also support the development of a gender-responsive Skills Development Strategy and implement an outreach campaign focused on increasing women's representation in technical and leadership roles in a traditionally male-dominated energy sector.

The Project will contribute to the "Green" transition quality by adding 100 MW of green generation capacity to the Tunisian power system, currently dominated by gas-fired power plants, to support the country's low-carbon transition by reducing its reliance on thermal power generation. That will result in significant CO2 emission savings estimated at c. 143k tonnes per year.

The Project will also support the "Competitive" quality by funding a renewable project developed by private developers in the power generation sector, which remains majority-owned by the state-owned utility STEG. The Project is part of the first 500 MW solar PV projects under the new 1.7 GW renewable energy programme under the Concession Regime, which was competitively tendered in 2024.

The Bank's additionality is underpinned by extensive policy dialogue in developing the renewable energy regulatory framework in Tunisia and supporting the restructuring of the energy sector over the past eight years. The Sponsors will benefit from EBRD's support in view of the Bank's active policy engagement in Tunisia as well as the Bank's experience and track record in the renewables sector across the COOs.

The Project will support the development of a gender-responsive Skills Development Strategy to address the evolving needs of the energy sector for a skilled technical workforce in Gafsa Governorate, promoting gender equality and women's participation in the traditionally male-dominated energy sector. This will also include awareness-raising campaigns on Gender-based violence and harassment and care-related benefits across local communities in Ksar, Gafsa Governorate.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

As stated by the EBRD, the project is developed under the EBRD SEMED Private Renewable Energy Framework (SPREF), designed to finance private developers of renewable energy in SEMED countries.

EBRD Finance benefits from a first loss risk cover from the European Fund for Sustainable Development plus (EFSD+) Hi-Bar guarantee programme. The programme contributes to economies in the European Neighbourhood by supporting sustainable investments in energy transition.

EBRD has also mobilised a grant of up to EUR 3 million from the EU Neighbourhood Investment Platform (EU NIP) to cover part of the cost of the transmission infrastructure.

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the EBRD, Gafsa Qair Tunisia is a special purpose vehicle to be incorporated in Tunisia for the sole purpose of owning and operating the Project. It is 100% owned by Qair International.

Private Actor 1	Private Actor 1 Role	Private Actor 1 Sector	Relation	Private Actor 2	Private Actor 2 Role	Private Actor 2 Sector
Societe Tunisienne de l'Electricite et du Gaz	Buyer	Energy	contracts with	Qair International SAS	Client	Energy

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Client - Qair International SAS:

Eric Boutemy
Email: e.boutemy@qair.energy
Phone: +216 29 028 158
Website: https://www.qair.energy/
Address: 11 Rue Kabadou La Marsa 2070, Tunisia

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html