Govt fails to woo a single investor for solar project

In a major setback, no bid was received for setting up a 600-megawatt solar power project at Muzaffargarh despite multiple revisions in incentives and extensions in deadlines given by the Private Power & Infrastructure Board (PPIB) — a one-window power sector entity of the federal government. This was the first pilot project for the acquisition of renewable energy through international competitive bidding (ICB) in line with the projections under the long-term Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP). Multiple rounds of bidding were held and revisions in incentives were made since late 2022 under the already approved Framework Guidelines for Fast-Track Solar PV Initiatives 2022.