Windiga BF

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 Note: The original disclosure for this investment was done on September 20, 2016. Zina Solaire SA was then sponsored by Windiga Energy International Inc. (95% ownership) and the GoBF  (5% ownership), and Bouygues Energies & Services (“Bouygues”) was selected as the EPC and O&M Contractor, following a tender organized in 2015. However, the project was restructured, mainly due to the worsening security environment, with AMEA Power joining as the new Sponsor in 2020 while the EPC and O&M contracts were secured by Powerchina Huadong Engineering Corporation and its affiliate Sinohydro, respectively. Though the focus of IFC’s investment remained unchanged, the ESRS and ESAP have been updated to reflect the changes involved with the new ownership and the delay in the Project execution. The project consists of the development, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of a greenfield 26.6 MWp solar photovoltaic power plant in Zina, Mouhoun region, in the South-West of Burkina Faso, 180 km west of Ouagadougou (the “Project”). The electricity generated from the project will be sold to Sonabel, the state-owned power utility, under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”). The project will be connected to the national grid via a 7.8 kilometer transmission line. The 70 ha concession for the plant and 11 ha for the transmission line were granted by the Government of Burkina Faso (GoBF) under a 99-year lease agreement. The project Company is Zina Solaire S.A., a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Burkina Faso (“Zina Solaire” or the “Company”). The Company will be 99.9% owned by AMEA Power (the “Sponsor”), a developer, owner and operator of renewable and thermal power projects across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and 0.1% by the Government of Burkina Faso. The plant and the transmission line will be built under an Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract. Powerchina Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited (Powerchina) will be the EPC Contractor for the Project, while its affiliate, Sinohydro Corporation, will be the O&M Contractor. The borrower, Zina Solaire, issued a Limited Notice to Proceed (LNTP) to Powerchina in August 2021. The construction has been started during the second quarter of 2022 and is expected to last 14 months. The proposed IFC investment includes an IFC A loan of up to EUR 8.3 million and risk management products (interest and cross currency swaps). In addition, IFC intends to mobilize the remaining balance of the debt required for the Project, including a senior concessional loan of up to EUR 8.3 million from IFC as implementing entity of the IFC-Canada Climate Change Program (“IFC-CCCP”).The nearest community to the site is Zina located approximately 1.5 km away with a population of 4,000 people. The access road crosses the following communities: Dangouna (approx. 2.7km from the solar plant site), Wona (also spelled Ouona, approx. 7km away), Somona (approx. 6.5km to the south), and Zina (about 4,000 people in total). Habitat is modified and land use is mostly agricultural. Currently on the site there are no structures and Zina Solaire intends to provide workers accommodations at a nearby mining site for about 10 workers. Powerchina will build additional temporary worker accommodations on site for about 100 people for the construction phase