China Eximbank provides loan for 66MW Cox's Bazar Wind Farm Project

Project narrative

In 2022, the Hunan Branch of the Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) issued a loan worth approximately $82.51 million to US-DK Green Energy (BD) Limited — a special purpose vehicle and wholly-owned subsidiary of Wuling Power Corporation Limited (a subsidiary of the Chinese State Power Investment Corporation Limited, or SPIC) — for the 66MW Cox's Bazar Wind Farm Project. The borrowing terms of the loan are unknown. However, it is known that the $116.51 million project was undertaken on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis and it was financed according to a debt-to-equity ratio of approximately 71:29. The purpose of the IPP project was to finance, construct, own, and operate a 66MW wind farm in Khurushkul within Chakaria Upazila, Cox's Bazar District, and Chattogram Division. The project involved the installation of 22 wind turbines — with a single unit capacity of 3MW — on a site that occupies 18 square kilometers. It also involved the construction of a 132 KV transmission line. Upon completion, the wind power plant was expected to generate about 145 million kWh of clean electricity annually, reducing coal consumption by 44,600 tons, carbon dioxide emissions by 109,200 tons, and meeting the electricity demand of 100,000 households. Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) agreed to purchase electricity from US-DK Green Energy (BD) Limited at $0.12 per unit (1.0 kilowatt/hour) for 18 years from the operational start date of the power plant. Power China Chengdu Engineering and Fujian Electric Power Engineering Company served as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors for the project. A formal commencement ceremony took place in October 2021. However, construction did not begin until March 31, 2022. The project reached a major milestone on May 26, 2023, injecting 30MW of electricity into the national grid. Six months later, in November 2023, China Eximbank conducted a post-loan inspection at the project site. Then, on March 8, 2024, the power plant started full-scale operations. The power plant was connected to the grid and operating at full capacity by April 18, 2024. The project was originally scheduled for completion by December 2023.