Infrastructure & Energy
Countries need functional infrastructure if they are to develop. Sustainable development is hardly possible without transport routes or telecommunications, without a water and power supply. But often the costs of such major infrastructure projects exceed the government’s financial resources. Private sector institutions can play a part in sustainably improving the infrastructure. To secure project finance, enterprises investing in such schemes need partners who commit for the long term. We advise our customers, contribute our in-depth knowledge and support them for the entire term of their involvement. Together, we develop financing solutions that are viable for the long term and can be flexibly structured.
If required, we can arrange large volumes and involve additional investors. Project developers also benefit from our extensive sector and industry know-how and wide-ranging network. Our special focus is on the investments’ sustainability.
CO₂ savings for mobile phone infrastructure
Lebanese company IPT Powertech Group SAL (IPT) is investing in decentralised energy solutions for mobile phone companies in Africa and the Middle East. In 2019 DEG provided the company with a long-term loan of USD 25 million for this purpose. Other lenders included Proparco and Finnfund, with EIB as co-investor.
IPT operates more than 30,000 mobile phone masts for various mobile phone providers in eleven countries. In many cases so far, the masts have been supplied with electricity from diesel generators, as a public power grid is not available everywhere in the region. IPT takes over the generating equipment from the mobile phone providers, converts it to solar power, and stores the excess electricity so that it can be used as green energy at any time. Long-term supply agreements are arranged with the mobile phone providers.
IPT already operates around 4,500 mobile phone masts in line with this model. Financing from the DFI will enable a further 1,000 masts to be converted, creating around 2,000 new jobs, either directly or indirectly. In total, it is expected that around 40% of the energy required to date and about 115,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year will be saved as a result.
“The stable and long-term partnership with development finance providers such as DEG enables IPT to apply the very latest solutions to transforming the telecommunication industry into a more sustainable and greener sector.”