Chad - Gassi and Lamadji Solar PV DtP (AFDB-P-TD-F00-006)

Regions
  • Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Chad
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Gassi, Lamadji, N'Djamena
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
  • African Development Bank (AFDB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
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
Dec 16, 2024
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)
$ 14.17 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 13.5
Converted using 2024-12-17 exchange rate.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 14.00 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 13.5
Converted using 2024-12-17 exchange rate.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 43.45 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 41.4
Converted using 2024-12-17 exchange rate.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ AFDB website

Updated in EWS Mar 31, 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.

As stated by the AfDB, the Project entails the design, construction and operation of two 15MWp solar PV plants close to the Lamadji and Gassi substations with a total capacity of 30 MWp, connected to the 90 kV loop around N'Djamena.

The Project includes the construction of new substations and 14 kms (Lamadji 4 kms and Gassi 10 kms) of interconnection infrastructure, transferred to the national utility, Societe Nationale d'Electricite ("SNE"), on project completion, and a 6 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to support integration of intermittent generation to the grid.
The Project is an important milestone in the Desert to Power ("DtP") Roadmap and will build on the contractual structure and on Technical Assistance to SNE for the integration of Variable Renewable Energy ("VRE")with the support of Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa ("SEFA").
This project primarily contributes to climate mitigation results. As such, 100% of the total approved amount is attributed as climate finance, of which 100% is dedicated to mitigation.

The Project will replicate the contractual structure of the Djermaya project. It will displace 61 GWh of high cost HFO/diesel generation thereby reducing government subsidies to the national utility. It will form a major part of the country's approach to sustainable development, delivering benefits in climate mitigation -through reducing GHG emissions by 49kt CO2e per annum -and adaptation by diversifying energy supply options away from fossil fuel sources.

The construction phase is expected to provide temporary employment for 200 individuals, with 15% of these jobs designated for women and 60% for youth. Being in the renewable energy sector, these are green jobs that will support the country in its transition towards green growth. The operations will create 34 permanent jobs and 30 temporary jobs, maintaining the same inclusivity targets of 15% women and 60% youth, for the duration of the PPA. This corresponds to 60 fulltime equivalent (FTE) jobs during both construction and operation.

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

According to the AfDB, the Bank's involvement is expected through (i) an AfDB senior loan of up to EUR 13.5 million (ii) mobilization of a reimbursable grant to offset increased costs linked to the BESS component and (iv) provision of a PRG instrument with a face value of up to EUR 8 million (UA 6.58 million) backstopping a standby L/C which covers SNE payments following a request received from the Government of Chad ("GoC"). 50% would be covered by Green Climate Fund under DTP, and 50% covered by ADF, requiring an allocation of UA 0.82 million under ADF16. 

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 AfDB, the borrower is a single SPV registered as Quadran International Tchad (“QIT”), fully owned by Qair International (“QI”) as sponsor of the Project. QI is an Independent Power Producer (“IPP”), operating 1.1 GW of power generation assets exclusively from renewable sources and has an ambitious development pipeline of 35 GW, across the thirteen territories in which it operates (including Burkina Faso and Mauritius).

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - 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.

AfDB Team Leader:

Matthieu Benoit JALARD
Email: m.jalard@afdb.org 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/request-for-documents. Under the AfDBÕs Disclosure and Access to Information policy, if you feel the Bank has omitted to publish information or your request for information is unreasonably denied, you can file an appeal at https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/appeals-process.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AfDB

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), which is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an African Development Bank (AfDB)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the IRM, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a dispute resolution dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the AfDB complied with its policies to prevent environmental and social harms. You can submit a complaint electronically by emailing crmuinfo@afdb.org, b.kargougou@afdb.org, b.fall@afdb.org, and/or s.toure@afdb.org. You can learn more about the IRM and how to file a complaint at: https://www.afdb.org/en/independent-review-mechanism/

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How it works