InfraCo Asia and Radiance Renewables launched a joint venture – Radiance InfraCo Renewables – to develop a portfolio of greenfield renewable energy projects for commercial and industrial (C&I) clients in India under a platform model.

This model would allow C&I clients and lenders the opportunity to co-invest at the installation level, thereby inviting private sector investment at incremental phases of the joint venture’s progress. The joint venture is expected to mobilise US$75m in private sector capital through this approach.

With an initial capacity target of 110-150MWp, Radiance InfraCo Renewables will develop projects in compliance with international standards for ESG principles.

The projects in the portfolio are projected to avoid approximately 165k tCO2e greenhouse gas emissions each year, with an expected operating life of 25 years.Approximately 280 construction jobs and 80 operational roles are expected to be created from the projects.

Read the press release here

The Khmer Cold Chain temperature-controlled cross-docking facility was officially inaugurated in Q1 2024. The facility is phase 1 of InfraCo Asia’s initiative to establish cold storage capabilities to support Cambodia’s growing agricultural economy.

The facility is an ~6,000 cubic meter temperature-controlled cross-docking and storage facility adjacent to the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port, which also provides services that support the import and export of goods into and out of Cambodia, including agricultural products, fishery products, medical goods, and more.  

The facility was developed by InfraCo Asia in partnership with Phnom Penh Autonomous Port and received grant support from PIDG Technical Assistance and USAID.

Phase 2 of the project will focus on developing a distribution and storage facility in Phnom Penh with approx. 30,000 cubic metres of space. This facility is intended to facilitate last-mile delivery –in tandem with the services offered by the current cross-docking and storage facility– to further augment the cold storage ecosystem in Cambodia.

Together, the two facilities are expected to provide about 36,000 cubic meters of cold storage space – filling more than 25% of Cambodia’s cold storage capacity gap.

Learn more about the project here.

InfraCo Asia and PT Indika Energy Tbk as a consortium was awarded a 102 MWp solar PV + 252 MWh battery project by the Indonesian state-owned electric utility company, Perusahaan Listrik Negara via the De-Dieselisation Programme tender. The consortium will develop solar-battery hybrid storage solutions replacing diesel power in 46 locations across Sulawesi, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara, and Papua.

De-Dieselisation Project at the PLN tender award ceremony to develop solar-battery storage hybrid solutions in Indonesia.

The Khmer Water Supply Holdings (KWSH) team completed a PIDG Technical Assistance funded capacity building in non-revenue water (NRW) and drinking water quality (DWQ) management. Monitoring the NRW level helps to identify areas of treated water losses, such as leaks, that have an impact on the sales revenue and operations of the company. The training has supported KWSH with development of management systems for NRW and DWQ suitable for their operations.

KWSH station managers at the Pouk water treatment station sharing their approach to drinking water quality assessment in their plant.

The team visited Darco Ba Lai's water treatment facility last month. The plant supplies constant, treated water to more than 1500 households in Ben Tre province, Vietnam. The number continues to grow as more customers reach out to get connected to obtain access to clean water. As part of the visit, we conducted a review of Darco Ba Lai's operations and maintenance measures of the water treatment plant that were introduced as standards and procedures at its inception.

InfraCo Asia and Darco Ba Lai colleagues reviewing the plant's operations and maintenance procedures.

InfraZamin Pakistan won the 2023 IJ Global Wrap of the Year award for the gender bond guarantee signed with Kashf Foundation in June last year.

InfraZamin Pakistan is a local currency guarantee facility set up by the Private Infrastructure Development Group and Karandaaz Pakistan.

The three-year, PKR 2.5 billion gender bond has a 100% principal guarantee by InfraZamin Pakistan, and is credit-rated ‘AAA’ long-term and ‘A1+’ by the Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA).

It will be used to finance women-led micro-infrastructure projects such as the expansion of schools in rural and semi-rural areas, renovation and development of climate-resilient low-income housing – including houses damaged or affected by floods – and development and growth of small women-led businesses through working capital and business expansion lending.

InfraCo Asia and the KWSH team organised and participated in a series of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) workshops in 25 rural villages in the Takeo, Prey Veng and Siem Reap provinces of Cambodia. The workshops were attended by more than 300 villagers of which 61% were women and 3% people with disabilities.  

The workshops were funded by a grant from PIDG Technical Assistance, with content guidance by the PIDG Impact team and InfraCo Asia.

The WASH workshops improved awareness among the local community about several aspects of water usage such as risks and costs related to inappropriate use of unsafe water and hygiene practices, good practices to prevent water contamination, as well as benefits of piped water, like its safety and reliability.

Participants were then introduced to the services provided by KWSH in providing potable water piped directly to their homes.

Watch the video here

PIDG-Convergence fireside chat

We started the week with a PIDG-Convergence Fireside Chat featuring Convergence CEO Joan Larrea and PIDG Head of Investor Relations Tim Streeter. Moderated by InfraCo Asia Executive Director Claudine Lim, the chat explored ‘The view from 2030: How infrastructure finance can evolve’ and was followed by industry networking.

Several PIDG colleagues attended the Asia Infrastructure Forum where PIDG CEO Philippe Valahu gave an opening address for the sustainable infrastructure panel, for which GuarantCo Managing Director Nishant Kumar served as a panellist.  Technical Assistance Deputy Head Luke Foley shared his perspectives in the project discussion session on urban infrastructure growth and sustainability in Indonesia.

Philippe opening the sustainable infrastructure panel at the Asia Infrastructure Forum

PIDG and Infrastructure Asia colleagues meet with Minister Indranee Rajah (fifth from left)

The team also met with Singapore’s Second Minster of Finance, Indranee Rajah, together with colleagues from Singaporean Facilitation Office Infrastructure Asia. The Second Minister chairs the Asia Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory (ASIA) Panel which seeks to advance sustainable infrastructure development in the region.

The inaugural Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) donor meeting included representatives from DFAT Australia, METI and MOFA Japan, MOTIE Korea and the US Department of Trade and US Department of Commerce.

The inaugural IPEF donor meeting with PIDG

Philippe discussing the IPEF Catalytic Capital Fund at the project investment presentations at IPEF

The IPEF Catalytic Capital Fund was launched on 6 June by IPEF Partners. Administered by PIDG, the fund received initial grant funding of US$33 million to catalyse up to US$3.3 billion in private sector investments. Philippe shared the address that kicked off the Catalytic Capital Fund project pitching sessions.