Chinese Government provides a loan for the 400 MW Khersan-3 Dam and Hydropower Plant Project

In 2013, an unspecified Chinese Government institution extended a loan — through a line of credit — to Iran for the 400 MW Khersan-3 Dam and Hydropower Plant Project. The borrowing terms and face value of the loan are unknown. It is known that the total cost of the commercial contract for the 400 MW Khersan-3 Dam and Hydropower Plant Project was $44 million. The proceeds of the loan were used to finance the commercial contract that Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company (IWPCO) — an Iranian state-owned enterprise — signed with a consortium consisting of Iranian companies Tana Energy, Jihad Water Resources Development Co., Parhoon Tarh, and Chinese state-owned firms China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd. and SUMEC Group Corporation (SUMEC). The purpose of this project was to construct a dam located approximately 45 kilometers southeast of the city of Lordegan, in Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiary province, upstream from the Karun-IV Dam. Construction began on April 3, 2013, with a 60-month (5 year) contract period. The dam was ultimately completed on September 5, 2019.

Additional details

1. The Persian project title is نیروگاه، آبگیر و تونل های آب بر خرسان 3 or  ‌3 سد و نیروگاه  خرسان. 2. In 2017, a Vice President of the Export-Import of China reported that it had financed 26 electricity, petrochemical, oil and gas and nonferrous metal projects in Iran worth $9 billion USD (see "China’s EXIM Inks $1.5 bn High-Speed Rail Deal with Iran"). Therefore, China Eximbank is most likely the funder of this project. However, the source of project financing merits further investigation. 3. The face value of the loan is unknown. For the time being, AidData assumes that the loan was provided in the form of a buyer's credit and it financed 85% of the $44 million commercial (EPC) contract cost. This issue warrants further investigation.

Number of official sources

16

Number of total sources

26