The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it is providing Albania’s state-owned energy corporation KESH a Euro 30 million (Dollar 32 million) sovereign-guaranteed loan for the development of a 50 MWp solar photovoltaic park in the central municipality of Belsh.

The project, with a total investment value of Euro 40 million, is currently in the initial stages of assessment and evaluation, with a non-technical summary and a stakeholder engagement plan having been submitted already, EBRD said in a project notice last week. The project aims to diversify KESH’s sources of power generation, which is currently almost completely hydro-reliant.

The EU’s regional development arm, the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), is co-financing the project with an 8 million euro grant, whereas KESH is covering the remaining cost.

Additionally, the project has received two grants totaling 280,000 euros mobilized by the EBRD with Austrian government funds for project preparation, covering environmental and social due diligence, feasibility study, basic design, and procurement support. The WBIF has already granted 1.2 million for project implementation support and supervision engineering.

Besides the 50 MWp ground-mounted solar photovoltaic plant, the project also comprises the construction of a new substation nearby, as well as the expansion of an existing substation in the village of Kajan. The two substations will be connected through a new 9-kilometre 110kV overhead line. The loan is expected to be approved on July 17.