Workers install solar panels at a solar power plant in the Central Highlands. — VNA File Photo

Vietnam Electricity (EVN) said on October 30 that it has signed a credit agreement for a solar power plant project with the French Development Agency (AFD).

The loan without government guarantee, worth 24.2 million euro, will be used to finance the Se San 4 solar power plant with a capacity of 49MWp, which will be constructed in the area of the Se San 4 hydropower plant in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

In addition to the Se San 4 solar power project, AFD has also committed loans without government guarantee for the expanded Yaly hydropower project and a project to build power grids in the South. It is also considering a loan for the expanded Hoa Binh hydropower plant project.

EVN Deputy General Director Nguyen Xuan Nam said EVN highly appreciated the support and cooperation of AFD in arranging loans without government guarantee for the power projects, especially as the Government is tightening and moving towards stopping the guarantee for EVN's power projects.

Currently, EVN has to diversify financial mobilisation channels to meet its huge investment needs in the coming years, he added.

AFD is an international financial institution operating for non-profit of the French Government by providing loans and non-refundable aid for organisations and State-owned enterprises with the main target of reducing emissions and coping with climate change.

AFD is the first and only provider of loans without government guarantee for EVN to implement power projects. AFD's first loan without government guarantee worth US$100 million to fund the Huoi Quang hydroelectric plant project was signed in 2010. — VNS