The contract calls for the provision of control and safety systems, two 225-kV transmission lines and more than 160 wind turbines, each with capacity of 850 kW. An award is set for the first half of 2006, with the facility due to come on stream in the first half of 2008. Electricite de France is the consultant.

The project will have a debt/equity split of about 75:25. The debt will come from a Eur 50 million ($60 million) loan from Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW), a loan of Eur 80 million ($96 million) from the European Investment Bank and Eur 42 million ($50 million) in equity from the client, Office National de l'Electricite (ONE).

The KfW loan will be split into two equal tranches: one with a tenor of 40 years, including a 10-year grace period, and a margin of 0.75 per cent; and the other with a tenor of 10 years, including a five-year grace period, and a margin of about 6 per cent depending on market conditions.

Gamesa last year was awarded the Eur 48.7 million ($57.8 million) contract to build a 60-MW wind farm at Cap Sim in Essaouira province (MEED 5:8:05).