Kabul, Afghanistan, August 31, 2014
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has helped Afghanistan’s national power utility choose a new private contractor to improve the quality of the electricity supply to more than 300,000 people across Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan, and Zabul provinces.
IFC played a leading role in helping Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) develop and negotiate a management support contract for the Kandahar Operating Center. The winning bidder, Power Generation Solutions and Afghanistan Holding Group Consortium, will be responsible for supporting the daily management of the center; training staff to better maintain the transmission and distribution network, and improving customer care services. This will help address the serious power distribution problems in a country where millions of people have no access to electricity.
“Providing access to more reliable and predictable electricity services will have a positive impact on businesses and households in Kandahar,” said Abdul Razique Samadi, Chief Executive Officer of DABS.
DABS is currently unable to meet demand for electricity in the Kandahar Operating Center, and is only able to supply a few hours of reliable power per day due to inadequate generation capacity and significant technical and commercial losses on the transmission and distribution network. The new partnership will help reduce losses, and enable increased supply to existing customers.
“Increasing access to electricity is a strategic priority for IFC, especially in conflict-affected states like Afghanistan. Private sector participation is vital to improving access to basic infrastructure services like power distribution, and boosting economic growth. We are delighted to have been engaged in structuring this project,” said Muneer Ferozie, Regional Manager of IFC’s Advisory Services for Public-Private Partnerships in the Middle East and North Africa.
This project is supported by USAID Afghanistan, and is part of USAID Afghanistan’s broader support to DABS through the Power Transmission Expansion and Connectivity Project.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in about 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. In FY14, we provided more than $22 billion in financing to improve lives in developing countries and tackle the most urgent challenges of development. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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