Dubai power plant bidders offered $200M finance

Dubai power plant bidders offered $200M finance

UAE banking group Emirates NBD and HSBC have made a $200 million stapled debt facility available to bidders interested in constructing a new power plant for state utility Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), an Emirates NBD statement said on Tuesday.

September 28, 2011 2:25 by Reuters

The sum can be drawn upon to part-finance the commercial debt tranche which the consortia will have to put forward as part of their bids for the Hassyan 1 project.

The 1,500-megawatt Hassyan-1 power plant will be the first in Dubai to be built as an Independent Power Producer (IPP), whereby the producer sells its output to the utility, with the project to be financed as a public-private partnership (PPP).

The winning developer will own 49 percent of a special purpose company that will own Hassyan I, with the rest held by DEWA.

Funding for the scheme is expected to consist of both commercial bank debt and loans from export credit agencies, a banking source said.

While the stapled debt facility is optional, the offer could be attractive amid a difficult bank financing backdrop, although the source said that market conditions were not behind the decision to offer the facility. (Reporting by David French; Writing by Rachna Uppal; Editing by Greg Mahlich)