The Project is being carried out by Karavasta Solar Sh.p.k., a special purpose company incorporated in Albania, wholly owned by VMI ALB Karavasta BV incorporated in the Netherlands.

VMI ALB Karavasta BV is indirectly wholly owned by Voltalia S.A. (“Voltalia”), based in France. Voltalia is a global utility-scale renewable energy developer and service provider with extensive experience in the development and financing of solar PV and wind projects. Voltalia is listed on the regulated market of Euronext in Paris since May 2006. Its controlling stake is owned by Creadev (71.3%), an investment company fully owned and funded by the Mulliez family. The remaining shares are free float with 2.5% and 2.6% owned by PROPARCO and EBRD, respectively. Voltalia is the Sponsor to the Project.

 The total Project cost is estimated at EUR 120 million. IFC is considering providing an IFC A loan of up to EUR 25 million and an IFC B loan of up to EUR 11 million.

The Project is located in the County of Fier in the West of Albania, approximately 112km west of the capital city of Tirana. It is adjacent to the Divjaka-Karavasta National Park, which contains the Karavasta lagoon, the largest in Albania and one of the largest adjoining the Mediterranean Sea. The available land for the PV plant is 196 hectares, with the proposed PV layout footprint occupying a total of 185 hectares.

This is a Category A project as per IFC's Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability, as the company's business operations have the potential to cause significant adverse E&S risks and/or impacts that are diverse, irreversible, or unprecedented.

The project is adjacent to Divjaka-Karavasta National Park, a Candidate Emerald Site encompassing Karavasta Lagoon Ramsar Site, a highly important natural area. The project site also partially overlaps with the Karavasta Lagoon KBA/IBA designated for globally threatened bird species, important congregations of wintering and breeding waterbirds, and the endemic Albanian Water Frog. As such, a key E&S issue for this project concerns avoidance, monitoring, and management of potential adverse impacts on protected areas and biodiversity values.

Other E&S risks and impacts are expected to include: (i) adequacy of the E&S impact assessments; (ii) the company's & contractor's E&S management capacity & systems; (iii) contractor E&S management; (iv) stakeholder engagement & grievance mechanism; (v) labor & working conditions including Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), potential COVID19 impact, workers grievance mechanism, nondiscrimination & equal opportunities; (vi) emergency planning;  (vii) water availability; (viii) community H&S and project's use of security personnel; (ix) land acquisition; (x) potential impacts on sensitive biodiversity receptors with a particular focus on risks posed to avifauna by OHLs.