Monday, October 6, 2014

FMDQ: AFC, RMB, Others Finance $900m IPP in Ghana


Obinna Chima
 
The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has said it executed the financing of the Cenpower Generation Company Limited (Cenpower), which is implementing the Kpone Independent Power Project (Kpone IPP), a $900 million project in Tema, Ghana.

AFC is the global lead arranger of the $650 million debt funding for the project. The debt funding comprises $446 million 15-year commercial bank export credit backed facility, with Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), a division of FirstRand Bank Limited, as the global coordinator, initial mandated lead arranger, book runner and hedging coordinator and a 15-year development finance facility totaling $204 million, arranged by FMO, the Dutch Development Bank.

A statement explained that following the exit of InfraCo from the deal, the equity investors in the project would together provide equity funding of circa $250 million.  They include Africa Finance Corporation, through AFC Equity Investments Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AFC (31.85 per cent), Sumitomo Corporation (28per cent), Cenpower Holdings Limited (21per cent), Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) (15 per cent) and FMO (4.15per cent).

The plant comprises a 350 megawatt combined cycle gas turbine power plant, a 161kv substation, liquid fuel (light crude oil and distillate) storage, delivery and supply infrastructure and working capital financing for fuel.

The Kpone IPP is expected to provide an additional 10 per cent of Ghana’s generation capacity when it comes on-stream in 2017; 20 per cent of its available thermal generation, and supply power to approximately one million households in the country.

President/Chief Executive Officer, AFC, Andrew Alli said: “AFC’s long term vision is to help address Africa’s infrastructure deficit and ensure sustainable economic growth for the continent.  The full growth of the Ghanaian economy cannot be realised without an efficient and functioning energy sector.  “Power is one of AFC’s high priority sectors for investment, and arguably Africa’s most significant need.

“The exceptional feature of the project is that it is African. The initiative was African, as were the founding shareholders and the construction company.”

Ato Gyasi of RMB’s Infrastructure Finance team in Lagos said: “This is a major step towards setting a clear framework for future IPP delivery in a region that desperately needs more power to underpin its economic growth.

“This landmark project which, to my knowledge, has mobilised the largest ever commercial debt facility for a greenfields IPP in the region represents the start of what promises to be a successful partnership between the private sector and the government, in delivering power infrastructure to the people of Ghana.”
 

Culled from tisdaylive.com

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