World Bank extends solar project’s closing date
The World Bank has extended the closing date of the Sindh Solar Energy Project (SSEP) from September 2023 to July 2025 since the implementation of the project approved in 2022 remained unsatisfactory. The project has been significantly delayed for several reasons, including a two-year delay in appointing a full-time Project Management Unit (PMU), the impact of Covid-19, the 2022 floods and the weak capacity of the PMU. The latest project implementation report says the extension to the project’s closing date is required to allow the project to meet its stated development objectives, in light of the delayed project implementation. The extension will allow the PMU to extend ongoing contracts promptly, mitigating further delays and complications. The development objective of the project is to increase solar power generation and access to electricity in Sindh. The International Development Association, the soft-loan window of the World Bank had approved $100 million for the project, out of which $21.79m has already been spent.