ICBC contributes $180 million to $270.46 million syndicated loan for 200MW Bengkulu Coal-Fired Power Plant Construction Project (Linked to Project ID#61474, #69307)

On October 31, 2016, PT Tenaga Listrik Bengkulu [also known as Bengkulu Power (Hong Kong) Co., LTD or Bengkulu Power, Co] — a special purpose vehicle and project company that is jointly owned by PowerChina Resources Ltd. (70%) and PT Intraco Penta, Tbk (30%) — signed a $270.46 million syndicated loan agreement with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and China Eximbank. ICBC contributed approximately $180 million (captured in Project ID#69306). China Eximbank contributed $90 million (captured in Project ID#61474). The loan carries a 15-year maturity. Its interest rate is unknown. ICBC is the facility agent and security agent for the loan. It is also responsible for the on-shore bank account for the loan facility. The $360 million project was implemented as an Independent Power Project (IPP) on a Built-Operate-Own-Transfer (BOOT) basis and it was financed according to a 75:25 debt-to-equity ratio. PowerChina made a $67.5 million equity contribution to the project (captured in Project ID#69307). Sinosure provided overseas investment insurance. Financial closure was reached in June 2017. The purpose of the project was to install a 200-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant — with two 100MW generators (Unit 1 and Unit 2) — in the village of Teluk Sepang on Port of Baai Island, Bengkulu City, Regency, South Sumatra Province (exact locational coordinates: -3.9123478, 102.270375). On November 25, 2015, PowerChina signed a power purchase agreement with Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), which is an Indonesian government-owned corporation that has a monopoly on electricity distribution in Indonesia and generates the majority of the country's electrical power. PowerChina was also the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. Construction started on February 21, 2017. The project reached its commercial operations date (COD) on November 29, 2019. However, it was also plagued by some degree of controversy. In May 2018, a number of farmers in Bengkulu city expressed opposition to the plant because its construction was damming a stream and causing their land to flood. In August 2018, dozens of residents of Bengkulu City held a demonstration in opposition to the plant. In February 2020, fishermen and civil society organizations floated a 20m x 12m banner in the bay near the site of the plant as President Joko Widodo visited Bengkulu.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the 2 X 100MW Bengkulu Coal-Fired Power Plant Project. 2. The Chinese project title is 明古鲁燃煤电站项目 or 明古鲁2×100MW火电项目. 3. AidData has coded this transaction as a collateralized loan because ICBC was selected as the security agent (i.e. collateral agent) for the loan. When lenders take collateral as security for their loans, a collateral/security agent is often appointed to enforce rights against the collateral in the event of the borrower’s default under the loan.

Number of official sources

9

Number of total sources

17