Business Recorder – 50 megawatts wind project: Metro Power Company signs $98.6 million financing
Metro Power Company Limited on 14th April in Istanbul, Turkey executed the financing documents for $98.6 million financing for its 50MW wind power project consisting of twenty (20) Nordex N100 wind turbines of 2.5MW each, from Germany to be located in Sindh Province. Financial close of the project is expected to take place by July 2014 and commercial operations expected to start by end of 2015. Electricity generated by Metro Power will be sold to the National Transmission and Despatch Company under a 20-year fixed price Energy Purchase Agreement under the Government of Pakistan’s Renewable Energy Policy for the Development of Power Generation (2006). The project is equally owned and has been jointly developed by a leading Pakistani business family of Iqbal Alimohamed and InfraCo Asia Keenjhar Wind (a wholly-owned subsidiary of InfraCo Asia Development Pte. Ltd, Singapore). IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has also taken a minority equity interest in the project. The project shall be financed through a foreign debt tranche provided jointly by the IFC and the ECO Trade and Development Bank and local debt tranche in Pakistan rupees provided jointly by National Bank of Pakistan, United Bank Limited, Bank Alfalah and Askari bank. “We are excited to be contributing to alleviate Pakistan’s energy deficit by providing sustainable and affordable renewable energy” said Danish Iqbal Alimohamed, Chief Executive Officer of Metro Power. “Despite challenging market conditions in Pakistan’s power sector, we are pleased with the support we received from our shareholders,lenders and the Government of Pakistan that enabled us to achieve this important milestone.”-