The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has announced that some of the financing agreements for Fadhili independent power project (IPP) have been signed. 

A group of international banks is extending SR1.6bn ($420m) as part of the financing package for the estimated $1.2bn IPP. They include Spain’s Banco Santander and France’s Credit Agricole. The tranche has a 12.77 year tenor and is guaranteed by the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation.

MEED reported earlier in October that local National Commercial Bank is expected to extend a Saudi riyal tranche, as part of a club loan.

A joint venture of SEC and state-owned oil and gas giant Saudi Aramco awarded the main contract to UK/France’s Engie to develop the power and steam plant in July 2016.

The 1,504MW plant will be built on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis.

The special project vehicle is 30 per cent owned by SEC, 30 per cent by Aramco and 40 per cent by the private sector partners.

The EPC contractor in the Engie consortium is South Korea’s Doosan.

The cogeneration project is scheduled to be developed on a 20-year power, water and steam purchase agreement (PWSPA), with Aramco the offtaker for the steam and water components and SEC the offtaker for the produced electricity.

The proposed IPP will have steam capacity of 3,190,000 pounds an hour and water production capacity of 768.8 tonnes an hour

The IPP is scheduled to become operational by December 2019.