BankAmerica Announces Financial Close of First Napocor BOT Hydroelectric Power Facility in the Philippines.SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 17, 1997--BankAmerica's Global Project Finance Group announced the financial close for the US$168million 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 in the Philippines. The hydroelectric power project is the first such facility under the build-operate and transfer (BOT) program of the National Power Corporation (Napocor), the government owned power utility. Construction of the project is already underway in Luzon and completed is scheduled for the year 2000. BA Asia acted as financial advisor to the project company. A consortium of banks comprising AB Capital, ING Bank, PNB PNB Produit National Brut (French) PNB Punjab National Bank (India) PNB Philippine National Bank PNB Producto Nacional Bruto (Spanish: Gross National Product) and Solidbank have agreed to provide three loan facilities for the 70 megawatt, run-of-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 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 sponsors are Aboitiz Equity Ventures, a major infrastructure investment firm that currently operates 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. The plant ownership will be transferred to Napocor once the term expires. Napocor have a government guaranteed purchase agreement to buy all power available from the plant. It will pay for the power produced in US dollars, in order to eliminate currency risk to the lenders. Bakun AC is one of the first projects to be financed largely through local FCDU dollar funds. This financing arrangement eliminates the need for political risk insurance, and is indicative of the increasing maturity of the project finance lending market in the Philippines. Innovative structuring of the debt and equity mix, including extensive usage of LC instruments, has provided both the sponsors and lenders with increased security and financial performance of the capital. The hydroelectric power project technically consists of a small dam that diverts water and delivers it through a 10 km tunnel that drops 550 meters over its length. The water is passed through a power station where electricity is produced, and is later returned to its source. Given that the facility does not require a reservoir, there are none of 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 usually associated with hydroelectric facilities. The facility will not be a pollution hazard and, since no fuel is used, there will be substantial foreign currency savings for the country. 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. Susan Stanley, 415/622-4449 |
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