ISLAMABAD, Oct 28 (APP): International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is investing $38.1 million in Zorlu Enerji Pakistan Limited to build a landmark wind power project in Sindh Province, in the country that will increase the country’s renewable energy generation capacity. The 56.4MW Zorlu Pakistan wind project is the first internationally-financed wind power development in Pakistan, says a statement issued by the IFC here. The Asian Development Bank, ECO Trade and Development Bank and Habib Bank are also financing the US$159 million project. When constructed, the project is expected to be one of the first two wind power projects to operate commercially in Pakistan. This project supports the entry of a Turkish power sector player in Pakistan, thereby promoting south-south investment.
Few international players are currently operating in the power sector in Pakistan and IFC’s support was instrumental in realizing financing for the project.
Zorlu Enerji is a key IFC client in the renewable energy sector, dating back to 2009, when IFC financed the project developer’s 135MW wind power project in Turkey.
The Zorlu Energy General Manager Arif said, “Pakistan’s first wind power plant project to be built with international finance, was made possible by the support we received from IFC”.
By demonstrating the viability of Pakistan’s local and renewable resources, this project is expected to have a considerable impact on the economy.
“IFC’s partnership with Zorlu Enerji, one of our key clients, enables us to extend additional support to the renewable energy sector in Pakistan. We hope this project will stimulate the interest of other investors in harnessing the country’s favorable wind resource,” said Gulrez Hoda, IFC Director for Infrastructure and Natural Resources in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and North Africa.
The project will help to alleviate Pakistan’s power deficit by developing an indigenous, renewable resource for power generation.
It will also contribute to reducing the country’s reliance on imported fuel for power generation.
“The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets”.
In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities-all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion.
In FY11, IFC invested over $500 million in renewable-energy projects, representing over 60 percent of IFC’s commitments in the power sector in terms of dollars invested.
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکِستان) is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west,India in the east and China in the far northeast.[7] Tajikistan also lies very close to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Strategically, Pakistan is located in a position between the important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the greater Middle East.[8]
The region forming modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures including theneolithic Mehrgarh and the bronze era Indus Valley Civilisation. Subsequently it was the recipient of Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, and Sikh cultures through several invasions and/or settlements. As a result the area has remained a part of numerous empires and dynasties including the Indian empires, Persian empires, Arab caliphates, Mongol,Mughal, Sikh and British Empire. Pakistan gained independence from the British Empire in 1947 after a struggle for independence, led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, that sought the partition of India and the creation of an independent state for the Muslim majority populations of the eastern and western regions of British India.[9] With the adoption of its constitution in 1956, Pakistan became an Islamic republic.[10] In 1971, an armed conflict in East Pakistan resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.[11]
Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of four provinces and four federal territories. With over 170 million people, it is the sixth most populous country in the world[2] and has the second largest Muslim population after Indonesia.[12] It is an ethnically andlinguistically diverse country with a similar variation in its geography and wildlife. With a semi-industrialized economy, it is the 27th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power. Since gaining independence, Pakistan's history has been characterised by periods of military rule,political instability and conflicts with neighbouring India. The country faces challenging problems including terrorism, poverty, illiteracy and corruption.
Pakistan has the seventh largest standing armed force and is the only Muslim-majority nation to possess nuclear weapons. It is designated as a major non-NATO ally of the United States and a strategic ally of China.[13][14] It is a founding member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation)[15] and a member of the United Nations,[16] Commonwealth of Nations,[17] Next Eleven economies and the G20 developing nations.
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