The ADB has offered a $24.3 million financing package for a 20 MW grid-tied solar power plant in the north-central division of Mymensingh, Bangladesh.
The package consists of a $15.5 million loan from the ADB and an $8.8 million loan from Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund 2 (LEAP 2), which is managed by the ADB. It has gone to Muktagacha Solartech Energy Ltd., a subsidiary of Bangladesh-based energy company Joules Power Ltd., which will build and operate the plant.
The ADB said in a statement that the project is one of the first private utility-scale solar facilities in the country to receive support from international financiers.
“The long-term financing will help advance private sector involvement in sustainable energy development in the country, while meeting the critical capital needs of sustainable projects,” said Suzanne Gaboury, ADB’s director general of private sector.
According to the ADB, renewable energy currently accounts for 4.5% of Bangladesh’s total energy capacity. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the country had deployed 767 MW of solar energy by the end of 2023, up from 524 MW by the end of 2022.
Analysts have mentioned this before high import duties as a barrier to solar energy deployment in Bangladesh. In November the government introduced one 10 years tax exemption package for renewable energy plants, effective from July 2025.
The Bangladeshi authorities have approved it 300MW of new solar energy in March, and beyond 1.5 GW of solar energy projects by 2023. In July, Indonesia’s Pertamina Power unveiled plans to launch a 500MW solar energy project in the southeastern part of the country.
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