Morocco - Ain Beni Mathar Solar Thermal Power Plant Project (Supplementary Loan)

The Ain Beni Mathar Solar Thermal Power Plant Project is part of the program of equipment for electric power generation (PEP) and the National Electricity Office (ONE) for the promotion of renewable energies for supply-demand matching by 2008-2011. The ABM project will be the Bank's first contribution to the construction of a solar power plant, which is also new for Morocco, in a context characterized by a major effort to restructure the sector, technological innovations, market opening and regional integration. It was initiated in 1994 during a pre-feasibility study of a thermo-solar power station in the regions of Ouarzazate and Taroudant in the center-south of the country with sufficient sunshine to justify the construction of such a power plant. This supplementary loan is intended to cover the additional cost of changes to the plant's technical specifications and the configuration of the transmission system. These changes are required in view of the delay in the completion of the production equipment program combined with a higher than initially anticipated increase in electricity demand. The resized project will increase ONE's generating capacity by approximately 470 MW and provide the interconnected system with an additional 3,200 GWh per year, including 40 GWh of solar origin. It will be executed over a total period of forty-two months (42) months, taking into account the actions already taken before the approval of this complementary financing. The total cost, net of taxes and customs duties, is estimated at UA 378.03 million. The ADB's additional financing, estimated at UA 135.5 million, brings its total participation to UA 248.49 million (or EUR 277.59 million) and covers about 65.73% of the total cost.