AES Completes Financing of $180 Million Gas-Fired Combined-Cycle Plant in Bangladesh; 360 MW Haripur Facility is 85% Constructed.

Business Editors

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 5, 2001

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) announced today that its subsidiary AES Haripur (Private) Limited completed a $180 million financing for its 360 megawatt gas-fired combined cycle facility in Bangladesh.

Funding is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent.

The World Bank has provided a Partial Risk Guarantee to the lead underwriter, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ), who will furnish a 13-year, $60.9 million loan for the project. AES has made an $86 million equity contribution as well as furnished a 13-year, $37 million senior sponsor facility.

AES will own and operate the Haripur facility at a site 12 miles south east of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Electricity will be sold to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) under the terms of a 22-year power purchase agreement. Titus Gas Transmission and Distribution Company will supply natural gas to the facility for the term of the power purchase agreement.

The plant is being designed and built by a consortium composed of Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd. and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. Construction is currently 85 percent complete and ahead of schedule. Simple cycle operation of the plant is expected to commence within the next month and commercial operation in combined-cycle mode is expected in October 2001.

Mr. Scott Kicker, Project Director for AES Haripur, commented, "This is a great accomplishment for AES' team in Bangladesh. This is the first time that such long-term international commercial financing has become available in Bangladesh. With the support of the World Bank, we hope to supply power ahead of schedule and deliver on our promise of bringing affordable electricity to the people of Bangladesh."

Mr. Dennis W. Bakke, President and Chief Executive Officer of AES, stated, "We are pleased that we have achieved this important milestone in Bangladesh. This business will allow us to supply needed, low-cost, clean, reliable electricity to a country that has a power crisis."

Business development milestones in 2001 include the following:

-- 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, on
December 27, 2000.

-- 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, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Georgia, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Mexico, Pakistan, Panama, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, the United States and Venezuela.

The company's generating assets include interests in one hundred and sixty facilities totaling over 54 gigawatts of capacity. AES's electricity distribution network has over 920,000 km of conductor and associated rights of

way and sells over 126,000 gigawatt hours per year to over 17 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]. The list aes-pr-announce is an automated mailing list and can be found on the investing page of our web site. Those who subscribe to this list will receive updates when AES issues a press release.