BNP Paribas, one of the world’s leading banking and financial services groups has been awarded Euromoney’s Project Finance Deal of the Year Awards for the Middle East at the award dinner in Bahrain. The award was presented to BNP Paribas’ Regional Head of Energy Commodities Export Project by Euromoney’s Editor Sean Keating.
BNP Paribas ECEP “Energy Commodities Export Project” successfully completed its task as Financial Advisor and Coordinator for the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Bahrain for the privatisation of Al Hidd Independent Water and Power project (IWPP). A successful closing was reached on 22 January 2006 with the execution of the Project Agreements in Bahrain.
The project comprises the privatisation of the existing Hidd Phase I & II assets (circa 1,000 MW and 30 MIGD) and the extension of the water capacity to 90 MIGD in total.
The tender, which was launched in July 2005, has been won by a consortium led by International Power plc together with Suez Energy International and Sumitomo Corporation. The consortium offered the highest purchase price at US$ 738 million for the brownfield independent water and power project (IWPP) at Hidd on 14 December, the largest privatisation in the Kingdom of Bahrain ever.
Tractebel and GIC are carrying out the other kingdom’s first private power scheme, the Al-Ezzal independent power project (IPP). The government’s advisory team on both projects includes BNP Paribas, Freshfields Bruckhaus Derringer and the UK’s Mott MacDonald.
