Funds for SSEP tied to design, fiduciary controls: World Bank tells Centre

The World Bank has assured the federal government that funds for Sindh Solar Energy Project (SSEP) would not be released unless detailed design and fiduciary controls of the project are in place. According to a working paper of the project, in compliance with the decisions of Central Development Working Party (CDWP), the undated feasibility report regarding various components of the project has been submitted by Energy Department of Sindh with the Planning Commission of Pakistan along with clarification of project implementation mechanism by WB.
"The WB has assured that financing of any investment/implementation activities would not be released unless the detailed design and fiduciary controls are in place," the document of the Planning Commission shows. The CDWP at its meeting at the beginning of previous month constituted a committee under Member (Energy) Planning Commission to address the issues of power evacuation, project design and feasibility study.
The committee at a review meeting deliberated upon the issues in compliance with the CDWP. It emerged that stakeholders including Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO), Sukkur Electric Power Co. (SEPCO), Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) and Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) reached consensus to support the project subject to compliance with the prevalent framework for approval of solar power projects in the country.
The objective of SSEP is to support the scale-up of solar power in Sindh province and increase access to electricity. Moreover, it would improve energy security and fulfill Pakistan''s international commitments on climate change. The project consists of four components, ie, Utility-Scale Solar, Distributed Solar, Solar Home Systems (SHS) and Capacity Building & Technical Assistance.
Total cost of the project is Rs 11.44 billion. World Bank will share 95 percent of financing whereas Sindh government will put in five percent financing in the project. The cost of Utility-Scale Solar component has been put at Rs 4.4 billion, Distributed Solar at Rs 2.75 billion, Solar Home Systems (SHS) at Rs 3.3 billion and Capacity Building & Technical Assistance at Rs 550 million.