AES Subsidiary Completes $890 Million Project Financing in Spain; 1,200 MW Gas-Fired Generating Facility Under a Long-Term Contract.

Energy Editors/Business Editors

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 22, 2003

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) announced today that one of its subsidiaries has completed a project financing of $890 million, including stand by and auxiliary financing of $200 million, for a wholly-owned 1,200MW combined cycle gas-fired power plant. The plant will be located on the Mediterranean Coast in Cartagena, Spain. Full commercial operation is expected by early 2006.

The project is fully contracted for up 24 years under the terms of a long-term energy agreement with the Gaz de France Group. Liquified natural gas (LNG) will be imported through the Cartagena import terminal.

Paul Hanrahan, Chief Executive Officer of AES, stated, "The Cartagena project is a very positive addition to our global electric generation and distribution portfolio. The highly contracted structure of this business has allowed for a solid project financing, consistent with the disciplined approach we are taking in both strengthening our parent balance sheet and pursuing well-structured, high quality growth opportunities."

Gerrit Nicholas, Project Director, commented, "The Cartagena project financing marks an important milestone in the emerging liberalization of the Spanish electric sector. It is the largest non-recourse project financing of its kind in Spain and will add both needed generation capacity to the Spanish system, and sustainable development opportunities for the Region of Murcia, while opening additional avenues for growth to AES in one of Europe's fastest growing markets."

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" regarding The AES Corporation's business. These statements are not historical facts, but statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.

AES is a leading global power company comprised of contract generation, competitive supply, large utilities and growth distribution businesses.

The company's generating assets include interests in 156 facilities totaling over 51 gigawatts of capacity, in 28 countries. AES's electricity distribution network sells 108,000 gigawatt hours per year to over 16 million end-use customers.

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