Six drop in for RAF B2

01 February 2006

A six-strong group of mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) has been appointed on the 25-year financing of the Ras Abu Fontas (RAF) B2 project. HSBC is acting as financial adviser to the client, Qatar Electricity & Water Company (QEWC - MEED 13:1:06).

The MLAs, all with equal tickets, are: Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi; Calyon; Commercial Bank of Qatar; Gulf International Bank; HSBC; and Qatar National Bank. The debt package comprises a $465 million tranche to fund the capital costs of the project and a $60 million stand-by facility.

The pricing on the deal starts at 65 basis points (bp) over Libor during construction, stepping down to 55 bp and then up to 85 bp, 115 bp and 150 bp. Financial close is due in late February.

The RAF B2 project calls for the installation of 597 MW of power and 29.4 million gallons a day of desalination capacity. A team of the US' GE Power Systems and Italy's Fisia Italimpianti was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract in mid-October (MEED 21:10:05).

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