Summary:

On 26 September 2023, Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani signed an agreement that will allow UAE-based AMEA Power to build a photovoltaic solar power project in central Tunisia.

The project, hailed as a milestone infrastructure development in Tunisia, will have a capacity of 100-megawatts and has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Tunisia by 90,000 tons per year, according to the African Development Bank.

AMEA Power, which was founded in 2016 in the UAE, has been exploring plans for the solar project for several years as the complex funding scheme has taken shape since 2019. AMEA is actively seeking additional solar projects across Africa.

The $86 million investment project includes partial financing from the African Development Bank up to $26 million. The International Finance Corporation, which is part of the World Bank Group, will provide $26 million in funding.

Outlook:  

The AMEA Power project is a pioneering step toward the development of green energy in Tunisia. With significant conversation around this issue, the project will allow investors to observe and learn more about the potential for similar undertakings in the future.

Tunisia’s energy sector has faced challenges recently, with traditional markets, such as phosphates, mired in labor disputes and bureaucracy.

Green energy projects have the opportunity chart a new course in Tunisia’s energy space, but risk similar hurdles in the face of Tunisia’s highly protective posture toward foreign investment. Bureaucracy and localized corruption pose risks to the profitability of any venture of this scale, while also holding significant potential for employment opportunities and the revitalization of economically strained regions of the country.

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