Moraca Hydropower Plant Bar-Boljare Motorway ASHTA Hydropower Plant Albania PPPs

Albania Kesh Bulgaria Water Belgrade Solid Waste JAT Airways

Moraca Hydropower Plant
Creating new power generation capacity is a critical developmental priority for Montenegro, as the country is dependant on significant imports of electricity to meet domestic demand. Following the success of the Bar-Boljare Motorway, IFC was approached by the Government of Montenegro to be the lead advisor for the development of the Moraca Hydro Power Plant. The project will entail the construction of four dams, which are expected to produce enough energy to meet the half of the current household consumption in the country.

Bar-Boljare Motorway
In May 2008, IFC was appointed as lead advisor to the Ministry of Transportation of Montenegro with the objective of assisting it in the structuring of a concession to the private sector for the construction of the Bar-Boljare Highway, which will link Montenegro and its Adriatic coast, Serbia and the rest of Europe. The project has the largest expected private sector investment component of all infrastructure advisory projects in the region and is the flagship project of the Government. It is the first project of its kind in newly independent Montenegro and, if carried out successfully, is expected to bring very significant development results to the smallest country in our region.

ASHTA Hydropower Plant (HPP)
The Ashta Hydropower Plant transaction, which was implemented within the scope of the Albania Advisory mandate, is a direct result of the close cooperation between the Albanian Government, our Donors, and the IFC. The team's work in the country resulted in four clear deliverables: (i) Drafting of the new Albanian Concessions Law; (ii) Establishment of the PPP unit and reinforcing of the institutional capacity at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy; (iii) Analysis of a number of potential HPP projects, their prioritization and selection of one for structuring and implementation; and (iv) Structuring and implementation of a pilot PPP transaction involving the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the new run-of-river Ashta HPP.
Following a strong response by the international investors' community and a competitive and transparent bidding process, the Government of Albania signed a concession agreement with Austria's Verbund on the 30th of September 2008. Verbund is one of the leading hydropower groups in Europe and is scheduled to invest Euro 166 ml for the construction of the project. It will hold the concession rights for 35 years. The installed capacity of the HPP will be 48.2 MW and the construction period is planned to last 3 years.
The Ashta HPP will provide significant contributions to the strained energy balance of Albania, namely: 1. Increase the renewable power generation capacity of Albania by almost 50 MW; 2. Lower its dependence on imports and thus have a long lasting positive effect on the country’s trade balance; and 3. Improve the delivery and reliability of electricity supply in the country.

Albania PPPs
Recognizing the importance of legislation conducive to private-sector participation and the role that institutional capacity building can play in terms of ensuring competitive and transparent public-private partnerships, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy of Albania asked IFC to review the country's legislation that was constraining private-sector participation in public infrastructure projects and make recommendations regarding draft concession legislation, which would best respond to the Government’s objectives and allow easy access to a clear, fair, predictable, and stable legal environment. In addition, with the aim of strengthening of institutional capacity of the Government, IFC also assisted in establishing a functioning and effective Concession Unit.

Albania KESH
Albania is experiencing serious shortages of power supply that are having a negative impact on its economy and people. Ensuring an adequate and continuous supply of electricity to all Albanian is, thus, of strategic importance to the growing economy. IFC has been engaged to advise the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy on: (i) the unbundling of KESH’s (the Albanian electricity company) distribution business assets from its other activities and assets; (ii) structuring a transaction that will attract the private sector; (iii) and executing an open, transparent, and competitive process to attract the optimal private partner to operate and develop the entity.

The privatization of KESH’s distribution business will have a positive impact: (i) on the Albanian people, as it will substantially improve the supply of electricity nationwide and lead to increased customer satisfaction; (ii) on the country as a whole, as the reduction of technical and non-technical losses and improved bill collection will help balance demand and supply of electricity; and (iii) on the company itself, given that the privatization will ensure sustainable and efficient operations, optimized resource allocation, and improved bill collection.