The key agreements signed included the 20-year power and water purchase agreement, the assets transfer agreement and the shareholders' agreement. Under the shareholding structure, Marubeni and its partners - Japan's JGC Corporation, the US' BTU Power Companyand Malaysia's Powertek Berhad- will own 100 per cent of Asia-Gulf Power Holding Company, which in turn will take a 40 per stake in the new B project company. The remaining 60 per cent will be held by ADWEA through Al-Taweelah United Power Company.

The $2,000 million senior debt financing package will comprise a $1,200 million tranche from the Japan Bank for International Co-operation, with the remainder coming from a 15-strong bank group (MEED 3:12:04).

The project involves the acquisition of the existing 1,070-MW, 100 million-gallon-a-day (g/d) B station and expanding it on a build-operate basis to take total output up to 2,000 MW and 160 million g/d. Completion of the new-build units, to be built by Germany's Siemensand Italy's Fisia Italimpianti, is set for July 2008.

ADWEA's advisory team on B is Germany's Fichtner (technical), HSBC (financial), White & Case(international legal) and Simmons & Simmons(local legal).

www.meed.com/powerwater