Qatar-based AES Ras Laffan Holding Co. has secured $572 million in financing for a massive power and water desalination project in the Gulf state, newspapers reported Thursday, November 22.
"With the help and active support of the Qatar government and international and regional banks, we are pleased to have closed the project without delay or other adverse implications," AES project director Tabish Gauhar said. The funding, mandated by 10 lead arrangers, will have an 18-year tenor, the company said.
AES Ras Laffan Holding is 55 percent owned by AES Corp. of the United States, 25 percent by Qatar Electricity and Water Corp., with the remaining 20 percent split equally between Qatar Petroleum and Gulf Investment Corp. The $720 million energy project, which will be on a build-operate-own-transfer basis, comprises a 750-megawatt power plant and a desalination facility.
The facility will produce 40 million imperial gallons (182 million litres) of water a day to meet the power and water demands of Ras Laffan industrial city, as well as domestic demand. Power production is scheduled to start in 2003, while full commissioning will be in May 2004. — (AFP, Doha)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
