Case Study

Scaling Infrastructure: Seven Sisters (Jordan)

October 6, 2019

In the last few years, IFC has prioritized an approach to creating bankable private sector infrastructure opportunities that we call “Scaling”—focusing not on single asset development, but on a holistic approach that creates a pipeline of infrastructure projects.

The essence of the Scaling approach is to develop a robust public-private partnership (PPP) model for a single deal and then replicate it. This spreads costs, enhances impact, and encourages programmatic, competitive tendering, with faster delivery and lower prices—genuinely creating new markets.

Amplifying the Voice of Developers

Seven Sisters | Jordan

In some countries, this approach involved working with governments to design a process. In others, IFC has worked with investors and bankers, corralling views and facilitating dialogue. In each case, the ideas at the heart of Scaling—focusing on aggregation and investing upstream to achieve credibility downstream—were adapted to specific country circumstances. In all cases, the Scaling effort in process design and organization had a meaningful and long-lasting impact.

Here we consider the case of one of these experiences—the Jordan Seven Sisters—in more detail. This case study accompanies four other case studies and an Executive Summary, and provides insights and key takeaways that are directly applicable to other countries.

Solar panels at the Bangweulu Solar Photovoltaic Plant during the opening ceremony by Zambia President Edgar Lungu in Lusaka, Zambia , Monday 11 March 2019.In July 2015, Zambia’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) signed an agreement with IFC to explore development of two large-scale solar projects through Scaling Solar.  The competitive auction organized through the program attracted 48 solar power developers, seven of whom submitted final proposals, and the bids yielded the lowest solar power tariffs in Africa to date.Enel Green Power (EGP) has initiated construction works on a 34MW Ngonye solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Zambia.
The solar PV plant will be the first to be built by Enel in the southern African country.
Located in Lusaka South Multi-Facility Economic Zone, the PV facility is part of the World Bank Group’s Scaling Solar programme carried out by Zambia’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).Photo/Karel Prinsloo/IFC