EBRD Arranges Financing for Saudi Co ACWA's 950 MW Power Project in Turkey

The European bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Monday it has arranged a 250 million (201 million euro) syndicated loan for a 950 megawatt (MW) combined cycle natural gas-fired power project of Saudi power projects developer ACWA Power in Turkey.

The EBRD said in a statement that it will provide $200 million for the $1.0 billion project from its own account and $50 million is syndicated to Banque Saudi Fransi which, in addition, is providing parallel financing of US$100 million under a murabaha Islamic financial instrument.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is also providing a syndicated loan of $170 million, of which $45 million is syndicated to the Korea Development Bank. Korea Eximbank and Standard Chartered Bank, with cover from Korea Eximbank, are joining as parallel lenders with $90 million and $60 million respectively.

Acwa Guc Elektrik Isletme ve Yonetim Sanayi ve Ticaret, a Turkish subsidiary of ACWA Power, will build the plant in the central Turkish province of Kirikkale. The facility is expected to generate enough electricity to cover half the energy needs of a city the size of Ankara and to save more than 1.825 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, according to the EBRD. As an independent power producer, the plant will operate on a merchant basis, selling the electricity it generates on the power market.

The EBRD added that investing in sustainable energy is its priority in Turkey. So far the bank has invested more than 4.0 billion euro in the country, half of which is dedicated to sustainable energy projects.

Source: SeeNews