GE Energy Financial Services (GE EFS) and Japan?s Sumitomo Corporation have secured project financing of US$1bn from a consortium of banks and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to develop the 1.8 GW power project, Hamriyah Independent Power Company in Sharjah, UAE
The project?s co-developers include Shikoku Electric Power Company and Sharjah Asset Management (SAM), the investment arm of the government of Sharjah.
GE stated that it had worked with several private financial institutions including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Limited, Norinchukin Bank, Soci?t? G?n?rale S.A., Standard Chartered Bank, and KfW-IPEX to secure financing.
The funds will be partly insured by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), a Japanese insurance corporation owned by the Japanese government.
JBIC will provide a second tranche under its ?Global Facility to Promote Quality Infrastructure Investment for Environmental Preservation and Sustainable Growth? (QI-ESG), a new initiative launched by the government of Japan in 2018 to promote infrastructure development projects that are expected to contribute to global environmental protection.
The co-developers have also formed an equity consortium with Shikoku Electric Power Company and SAM for the project. The role of the consortium will be to build, own and operate the project, which will consist of three combined cycle blocks, the first of which is planned to be online in 2021.
The project is expected to reach full commercial operations by the summer of 2023 and will sell its electricity production to Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
Susan Flanagan, GE Energy financial services? global power leader, said, ?Sourcing financing from the public and private sectors to fund Sharjah?s first independent combined-cycle power plant demonstrates the region?s attractiveness for foreign investment and GE?s ability to connect global capital to significant infrastructure projects. We are proud to partner with Sumitomo to deliver sustainable energy that utilises GE?s state-of-the-art gas turbine technology and financial expertise.?
GE will supply three 9HA gas turbines, three steam turbines, six generators, three heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) and turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for its power plant in Sharjah. GE will also provide parts, repairs and maintenance services for the power generation assets at the site for a period of 25 years.
