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Ethiopia launches 500 MW solar tender

Ethiopia moves forward with the second round of the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Scaling Solar Program, which entails the development of four solar projects totalling 500 MW of installed capacity. Interested parties have until May 29th to apply their request for pre-qualification (RFQ). Consortiums with national companies are strongly encouraged. Applicants will be judged on their experience, expertise and financial resources.

The Ethiopian Public-Private Partnerships Directorate-General (PPP-DG) has already identified 12 bidders to compete for the first round of development, encompassing 250 MW of solar capacity divided into two 125 MW schemes. The 12 bidders pre-selected must submit their final proposals before the end of June 2019.

IFC's Scaling Solar Program aims to reduce Ethiopia's reliance in hydropower which represents 88% of the total installed capacity (at 3.8 GW at end-2018).

Ethiopia plans to add 12 GW of hydropower, solar, wind and geothermal capacity via the private sector by 2020 under the framework of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP 2).