BA Asia completes first financing for Napocor build-operate-transfer hydroelectric facility in the Philippines.HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 11, 1997--Bank of America's Hong Kong-based merchant banking subsidiary, BA Asia Limited, announced today that it has closed a $168 million Bakun AC hydroelectric power hydroelectric power: see power, electric; water power. hydroelectric power Electricity produced from generators driven by water turbines that convert the energy in falling or fast-flowing water to mechanical energy. facility financing at Luzon in the Philippines. The project is the first hydroelectric power facility under the build-operate-and transfer (BOT) program of the government-owned power utility, National Power Corporation (Napocor). Construction is underway and scheduled for completion in the year 2000. BA Asia acted as financial advisor to the project company. A consortium of banks -- AB Capital, ING Bank, PNG (Portable Network Graphics) A bitmapped graphics file format endorsed by the World Wide Web Consortium. It is expected to eventually replace the GIF format, because there are lingering legal problems with GIFs. and Solidbank -- will provide three loan facilities for the 70-megawatt, run-of-the-river project set in the mountains of central Luzon Central Luzon region contains the largest plain of the Philippines, and produces most of the country's rice supply. That is why it is called the "Rice Bowl" of the Philippines. Its provinces are: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales. in the Benguet and Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Its capital is Vigan City and borders Ilocos Norte and Abra to the north, Mountain Province to the east, and La Union and Benguet to the south. To the west of Ilocos Sur is the South China Sea. provinces. The project's sponsors are Aboitiz Equity Ventures, a major infrastructure investment firm operating several minihydro power plants in the Bakun River valley; Pacific Generation of Portland, USA, a subsidiary of PacifiCorp Holdings, Inc. and a major US utility and IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) A protocol for printing and managing print jobs over the Internet using HTTP. Initially conceived by Novell, Xerox and others, the IETF made it a standard in 2000 that includes authentication and encryption. See printing protocol and LPD. developer; and Pacific Hydro Pacific Hydro is an Australian company that specialises in electricity generation using renewable energy. Its focus is on hydroelectricity and windpower. It was a public company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange until July 2005. , a developer and operator of several hydro projects in Australia. Transfield Construction of Australia has been retained as the project's turnkey contractor. The facility will supply power to Napocor under a 25-year, BOT arrangement. Plant ownership will transfer to Napocor when the BOT term expires. Napocor has a government guaranteed purchase agreement to buy all available power from the plant and will pay in US dollars to eliminate currency risk to project lenders. The Bakun AC facility is one of the first projects to be financed largely through local FCDU dollar funds. This eliminates the need for political risk insurance and is indicative of a maturing Philippines' project finance lending market. The project consists of a small dam to divert river water through a 10 km tunnel dropping 550 meters over its length. The water flows through a power station where electricity is produced and is returned to the river. The facility does not require a reservoir and the resettlement Re`set´tle`ment n. 1. Act of settling again, or state of being settled again; as, the resettlement of lees s>. The resettlement of my discomposed soul. - Norris. or environmental concerns often associated with hydroelectric facilities are not involved in this project. The facility, because it uses no fuel, will not be a pollution source but should generate a substantial foreign currency savings for the Philippines. CONTACT: Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. Nerys Williams, 852/2847-3389 (Hong Kong) Jim Mitchell, 415/622-4314 (San Francisco) |
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