AES Completes Development of $550 Million Bujagali Power Project in Uganda; 200 MW Hydro Facility Will be Largest Private Investment in East Africa.

Business Editors

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2001

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) announced today that the Uganda government has granted AES Nile Power final approval to begin the construction of a $550 million, 200 megawatt hydroelectric facility on the Nile River at a site 10 km north of Lake Victoria.

AES Nile Power will own, operate and construct the hydroelectric facility and related 100 km transmission line and two substations. A local partner, Madhvani International, will take a minority interest in the business. After a four-year construction period, the power facility will supply electricity to the state-owned Uganda Electricity Board (UEB) and its successor once it is privatized.

The project has a 30-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the UEB together with a Government of Uganda guarantee backing payment obligations due under the PPA.

Total financing requirement for the project is $ 550 million with 80% of the financing for the project coming from the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, African Development Bank, Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (WestLB), and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ).

Export credit guarantees are to be provided by GIEK of Norway, EKN of Sweden, ERG of Switzerland and Finnvera of Finland.

Robert Chestnutt, Bujagali Project Director, commented, " The Nile Power project team has faced the many unique challenges associated with hydropower development while advancing this project in Uganda. We believe that the environmental and social programs developed for the Bujagali project have set new global standards for hydro projects. The people most affected by the project will enjoy a significant improvement in their lives while one of the major constraints for the growth of the Ugandan economy, the shortage of energy, will be alleviated. The robust contractual structure of this business, which includes a Government of Uganda guarantee for the payment obligations of the Uganda Electricity Board, gives AES a high degree of confidence that this will be a successful AES business."

Dennis W. Bakke, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are delighted to reach this important milestone in Uganda. This new power generation business is a near perfect fit for AES. It will provide greatly needed, affordable electricity to the people of Uganda. It is expected to provide very solid economics to our shareholders. The World Bank and International Finance Corporation will achieve their goals of reducing poverty in Africa and the project will likewise assist the Government of Uganda create a more attractive investment climate and improve the lives of the country's citizens. We thank all the parties who have shown their commitment to this project since early steps were taken in 1994."

Business development milestones in 2001 include the following:

-- In December, three AES subsidiaries in El Salvador, achieved financial
closing of a $240 million International Finance Corporation capital expenditure
facility and private placement insured by MBIA Insurance Corporation.

-- In December, a subsidiary of AES resolved its disputes with the Republic of
Hungary in connection with the 1996 privatization of the Tisza power company

-- In November, a subsidiary of AES secured the financing for its $572 million,
750 MW and 40 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) gas-fired combined cycle
co-generation power and water desalination facility in the State of Qatar.

-- In November, a subsidiary of AES together with its South African empowerment
partner, Global African Power, Limited, entered into agreements to purchase the
600 MW (Gross) coal-fired Kelvin Power Station in the Republic of South Africa.


-- In November, AES terminated its tender offers to purchase shares and ADSs of
Compania Anonima Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela (CANTV).

-- In October, a subsidiary of AES completed the $250 million multilateral
credit financing for its gas-to-electricity project Songo Songo in Tanzania.

-- In October, a subsidiary of AES secured the financing for its $285 million,
730 MW gas-fired facility Wolf Hollow in Granbury, Texas.

-- In September, AES closed on the sale of related interests in the Argentine
hydroelectric facility Hidronequen to Total Austral S.A.

-- In August, AES together with its 87% owned subsidiary, Corporacion EDC,
C.A., announced their intention to make cash tender offers in the United States
and Venezuela to acquire American Depositary Shares and Class D Shares of
CANTV.

-- In August, a subsidiary of AES entered into an agreement to purchase all of
PSEG Global's interests in five jointly held businesses in Argentina.

-- In August, a subsidiary of AES announced that it intends to launch a cash
tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding loan participation certificates
of Edelnor.

-- In July, a subsidiary of AES completed the final phase of its acquisition of
the energy assets of Thermo Ecotek Corporation.

-- In July, a subsidiary of AES signed agreements to acquire a 56% interest in
SONEL, an integrated electricity utility in Cameroon.

-- In July, a subsidiary of AES acquired a majority of the energy assets of
Thermo Ecotek Corporation.

-- In June, AES signed a definitive agreement to sell the customers and related
assets of AES Power Direct.

-- In June, a subsidiary of AES secured the financing for its $104 million, 163
MW combined cycle diesel-fired power plant in Sri Lanka.

-- In June, AES announced that its AES-3C Maritza East 1 project in Bulgaria
signed two key contracts with NEK and Maritza East Mines.

-- In May, AES was awarded the Ras Laffan 750 MW and 40 million imperial
gallons of water per day natural gas-fired, combined-cycle cogeneration power
and water desalination project in the State of Qatar.

-- In May, AES announced that it received certification from the California
Energy Commission and is set to commence construction on the refurbishment of
two retired gas-fired units 3 & 4 at Huntington Beach, California.

-- In May, a subsidiary of AES signed a strategic alliance agreement with
COTEL, the largest local telephone carrier in Bolivia.

-- In May, a subsidiary of AES secured the financing for its, $348.6 million,
427 MW Barka facility in Oman.

-- In May AES announced that it won a bid for approximately $23.2 million to
purchase a 75% controlling interest in Rivenoblenergo, the distribution company
that serves the Rivno region, which is about 200 kms from Kiev, the capital
city of Ukraine.

-- In April, AES announced that it won a bid for approximately $45.9 million to
purchase a 75% controlling interest in Kievoblenergo the distribution company
that serves the region that surrounds Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine.

-- In April, a subsidiary of AES signed agreements for the financing of its
$300 million, 450 MW combined cycle gas-fired Meghnaghat power plant in
Bangladesh.

-- In April, a subsidiary of AES completed a $180 million financing for its 360
MW gas-fired combined cycle facility Haripur in Bangladesh.

-- In April, AES announced the completion of its acquisition of IPALCO in
Indiana.

-- In March, a subsidiary of AES secured the financing for the 720 MW gas-fired
Granite Ridge project in New Hampshire.

-- In March, a subsidiary of AES acquired from EniChem SpA an oil-fired 140MW
cogeneration facility in the town of Ottana, which is in the province of Nuoro,
Sardinia, Italy.

-- In February, a subsidiary of AES entered an agreement to purchase all of the
energy assets of Thermo Ecotek Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Thermo
Electron Corporation of Waltham, Massachusetts for $195 million.

-- In January, AES announced the start of construction of the $300 million AES
Wolf Hollow power plant at a site in Granbury, Texas.

-- In January, a subsidiary of AES acquired a majority interest in a 290MW
barge-mounted natural-gas-fired electric generating business in Lagos, Nigeria.


-- In January, AES Huntington Beach submitted a proposal to the California
Energy Commission to restart two retired gas-fired units that will add an
additional 450 megawatts of generation in the electricity-strapped state of
California.

-- In January, AES announced the purchase of an additional 39% ownership
interest in Hidroelectrica Alicura, a 1000 MW hydro plant in Argentina.

-- In January, AES announced that it had successfully completed its offer to
exchange all American Depositary Shares of Gener S.A. for AES common stock.

AES is a leading global power company comprised of competitive generation, distribution and retail supply businesses in Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech. Republic, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Mexico, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States and Venezuela.

The company's generating assets include interests in one hundred and eighty four facilities totaling over 62 gigawatts of capacity. AES's electricity distribution network has over 946,000 km of conductor and associated rights of way and sells over 135,000 gigawatt hours per year to over 19 million end-use customers.

In addition, through its various retail electricity supply businesses, the company sells electricity to over 154,000 end-use customers.

AES is dedicated to providing electricity worldwide in a socially responsible way.

This news release may include forward-looking statements. Actual events and results may differ materially from those projected. Factors that could affect actual results are discussed in AES's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and readers are encouraged to read those filings to learn more about the risk factors associated with AES's businesses.

For more general information visit our web site at www.aesc.com or contact investor relations at [e-mail].