The Afghanistan Investment Facilitation Unit on Saturday defended a recent agreement made with UAE-based PAL 4 Solar Energy LLC, calling the company credible and trusted. A project with the company will reportedly generate 3,000 megawatts of solar energy in Afghanistan.
According to the Afghanistan Investment Facilitation Unit, the agreement was only a preliminary accord for attracting investments to Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, officials of Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) have said that PAL 4 Solar Energy LLC will conduct a feasibility assessment of the solar projects in Afghanistan, and that the company will take responsibility for the expenditures in this regard.
But, Mirwais Alimi, the former head of commercial operations of Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS)--the country’s main power supplying company—previously said that the Afghan government over the past 18 years has failed to sign even small capacity projects, and added that a project for such a high volume of electricity is beyond the government’s capacity.
“The PAL 4 Solar Energy LLC will conduct feasibility assessments in Afghanistan within eight months,” said Nazeem Zamoon, Representative of the Legal Advisory Board of Office of the President.
“It is true that this company was registered at the beginning of the year with International Holdings, but PAL 4 is not supposed to bring investment in Afghanistan, investment will be brought by International Holdings,” said Attaullah Nasib, the head of Afghanistan Investment Facilitation Unit.
“First they will conduct their surveys and studies, then, after conducting a series of assessments, they will then sit with DABS to find out how much they will invest and where,” said Zabihullah Tahirzada, deputy head of operations for DABS.
Last year the government and DABS announced that they were jointly working on a solar power project that would be able to generate 2,000 megawatts of electricity. However, until now the two sides have not managed to identify a place for it.
Experts say that the current power system of Afghanistan doesn't have the capacity to handle 3,000 megawatts of power.