China Construction Bank (New Zealand) contributes to $355 million NZD syndicated lending facility to Top Energy to finance the 32 MW geothermal expansion of the Ngawha Power Plant

Project narrative

In 2018, a syndicate of three banks — China Construction Bank (New Zealand), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), and Bank of New Zealand — signed a $355 million NZD syndicated lending facility with Top Energy, a New Zealand-based power utility company operating in the country's Far North administrative region. The facility carries an unknown tenor and interest rate. On May 26, 2020, the three banks provided an additional $15 million NZD lending facility under the existing $355 million NZD facility as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding from the facility was used to finance the 32 MW geothermal expansion of the company's Ngawha Power Plant. Originally scheduled to be finished in October 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed constructions works, and the plant's expansion officially became operational in December 2020. The expansion, called OEC4, allows for greater exportation of power southward to other parts of New Zealand, allowing Ngawha to export power 97% of the time, rather than the previous 2%. The original, $355 million NZD facility is captured via Record ID#100242. The 2020 $15 million facility is captured via Record ID#100243.