Lending against a solar plant means lending against a construction programme and a twenty-year production forecast. AIUS gives the lender an independent technical read on both, before disbursement and throughout the works.
A solar project reaching a Tunisian bank arrives with a production estimate, an EPC contract, a connection agreement and a construction schedule, all prepared by parties with an interest in the loan being approved. The Independent Engineer is the only technical party in the transaction acting for the lender.
What the mandate covers
Before disbursement
- Review of the production forecast against the site’s measured or modelled resource, and of the assumptions behind it: soiling, degradation, availability, losses
- Verification that the authorisation, the land title or lease, and the STEG connection agreement are in place and consistent with the plant as designed
- Review of the EPC contract for scope gaps, performance guarantees, liquidated damages and warranty terms
- Verification that the electrical conformity attestation from an approved inspection body (bureau de contrôle agréé) exists and covers the installation as built
- Assessment of the construction budget and schedule against comparable executed projects
- A written opinion on whether the technical conditions for first disbursement are satisfied
During construction
- Site inspection at agreed milestones, with a written report to the lender after each visit
- Certification of physical progress against the drawdown schedule, so disbursements track the works rather than the invoices
- Notification of any deviation in scope, quality or programme that affects the completion date or the plant’s output
At commissioning
- Witness of performance testing and review of the results against the contractual guarantees
- Confirmation of grid synchronisation and STEG acceptance
- A completion opinion releasing the final tranche
Why this reduces the lender’s exposure
| Risk to the bank | What the Independent Engineer does | Effect on the loan |
|---|---|---|
| Production falls below forecast, debt service coverage erodes | Independent review of the yield assessment and its assumptions | The coverage ratio is tested against a figure the bank has had checked |
| Funds drawn ahead of physical progress | Milestone certification of works actually executed | Disbursement is conditioned on certified progress |
| Construction overruns or is abandoned mid-works | Scheduled site inspection with written reporting | Deviation is visible early, while remedies still exist |
| Plant is completed but underperforms or cannot be accepted by STEG | Witness of performance tests and confirmation of acceptance | Final tranche is released against verified completion |
Who does the work
The mandate is executed by AIUS staff and named experts, not subcontracted on. The core disciplines are electrical due diligence, structural and civil due diligence, permitting and pre-development, and EPC control. Experts are named in the engagement letter and the lender can object to any of them.
Standing
AIUS is a Tunisian engineering company registered in Sousse since 2018 (SUARL, unique identifier 1566894Z). We have provided technical due diligence support on 370 MWp of utility-scale solar PV in Tunisia and construction monitoring on a further 120 MWp, as subcontractor to ILF Consulting Engineers Germany GmbH, on projects sponsored by Scatec and Voltalia and financed by the EBRD, Proparco, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank. Certificates of good execution are available on request.
The Independent Engineer mandate is contractual. It does not require the MIME approval that applies to industrial safety inspection bodies, and AIUS does not hold or seek that approval, since acting as an approved inspection body would conflict with an advisory role.