China Eximbank provides $321.3 million preferential buyer’s credit for 427MW Bereza Combined Cycle Power Plant Reconstruction Project (Linked to Project ID#42199, #42214 and #66982)

On December 22, 2010, China Eximbank and the Government of Belarus signed a $321,300,000 preferential buyer’s credit (PBC) agreement [CHINA EXIMBANK No. PBC (2010) 33 (140)] for the 427MW Bereza Combined Cycle Power Plant Reconstruction Project. The PBC, which was funded through a $5.7 billion framework agreement (captured in Project ID#42199) and partially fulfilled a $1 billion pledge from March 2010 (captured in Project ID#42214), carried the following terms: a 15 year maturity, a 5 year grace period, and a 3% annual interest rate. The Government of Belarus on-lent the proceeds of the PBC to a state-owned energy company called RUE Brestenergo. RUE Brestenergo then used the proceeds of the PBC to finance 85% of the cost ($378 million) of a commercial (EPC) contract [№ 200050653100001] that it signed with China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) on September 21, 2010. The purpose of the project was to install a gas-steam combined cycle unit (CCU) at the Bereza power plant in Beloozersk (White Lake) in the Brest Region of Belarus. This plant generates approximately 10% of the country’s total power output. CMEC was the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. The project commenced in September 2011 and it was completed in March 2014 (78 days ahead of schedule). Then, on April 14, 2014, the CMEC and the state-owned Brest Energy Company of Belarus signed a project completion certificate.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the 427MW Berezov Combined Cycle Power Plant Reconstruction Project, the Berezov Power Station Expansion Project, the 427MW Berezovskaya Combined Cycle Power Plant Reconstruction Project, and the CCGT-400 MW at Berezovskaya Power Plant Construction Project. The Chinese project title is 白俄别列佐夫联合循环电站项目 or 别列佐夫427MW联合循环电站总. The Russian project title is Берёзовская ГРЭС or проекта «Строительство ПГУ-400 МВт на Березовской ГРЭС» or Строительство ПГУ-400 МВт на Березовской ГРЭС РУП Брестэнерго or «Строительство ПГУ-400 МВт на Березовской ГРЭС». РУП «Брестэнерго». 2. In the Overseas Development Finance Dataset that Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center published in December 2020, it identifies the face value of the China Eximbank loan that supported this project as $378 million. AidData relies on the face value of the loan ($321,300,000) that is reported by the borrower (the Government of Belarus). $378 million reflects the cost of the commercial contract and the China Eximbank PBC was used to finance 85% of the cost of this contract.

Number of official sources

8

Number of total sources

12