Mali’s Council of Ministers has adopted a draft decree approving an amendment to the concession agreement with AMEA Power for the development of a 100MW independent solar power project at Tiakadougou-Dialokoro in the Koulikoro region.

The government signed a memorandum of understanding with the UAE-based power developer in 2020 for the design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of the project in two 50MW phases under a build, own, operate and transfer contract. The first phase focuses on the construction of the Tiakadougou solar farm. But the scheme has not been able to move forward to financial close.

The amendments to the concession are intended to unblock the project and include the establishment of a partial risk guarantee, modification to the duration of the agreement, a change from ‘Take or Pay’ to ‘Take and Pay’, a reduction in the KWh purchase price, an extension to the estimated effective date and a change in the place of arbitration.

The amendments were approved on 8 May.