Abu Dhabi's ADFD completes renewable energy projects worth Dh117m in 2020

ADFD allocates Dh622m to finance various energy projects last year

Abu Dhabi Fund For Development completed renewable energy projects worth Dh117.3 million in 2020. Delores Johnson / The National

Abu Dhabi Fund For Development (ADFD) completed renewable energy projects worth Dh117.3 million ($31.9m) in 2020.

The projects were carried out in Cuba, Somaliland, the Bahamas, Barbados and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic, the fund said in a statement on Thursday.

“We doubled our effort to ensure that we delivered the projects to our partner countries, especially during such a time of crisis,” Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of ADFD, said.

“The aim was to help them maintain their economic and social development trajectories by enabling them to meet developmental challenges during the pandemic.”

ADFD is an autonomous national entity affiliated with the emirate’s government that finances projects across developing countries.

The fund allocated Dh622m to finance various projects across the world  last year including loan agreements worth Dh121m ($33m) with the West African nations of Togo, Niger and Liberia. The deals include a $10m solar project in Niger, an $8m mini hydro project in Liberia and a $15m project in Togo.

ADFD also announced an allocation of Dh384m to execute eight renewable energy initiatives under the seventh cycle of its partnership with the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Under the facility, eight projects will be funded in Antigua and Barbuda, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cuba, the Maldives, Nepal, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, according to ADFD. In July, it financed a waste-to-energy project in the Maldives.

“Renewable projects remain high on our agenda as their impact is felt on multiple levels, from commerce to the environment,” Mr Al Suwaidi, said.

The fund is also financing projects in 16 Caribbean countries through its $50m UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund. Launched in 2017, the UAE-CREF is the largest renewable energy initiative of its kind in the Caribbean region.