China Eximbank provides RMB 3.59 billion buyer’s credit loan for 913 MW Lamard Combined Cycle Power Plant Project (Linked to Record ID#85267)

Project narrative

In 2017, China Eximbank and Iran’s Bank of Industry and Mine — an Iranian state-owned bank— signed an RMB 3,591,317,330 ($602 million) buyer’s credit loan agreement for the 913MW Lamard Combined Cycle Power Plant Project. Iran’s Ministry of Economy issued a sovereign guarantee in support of the loan in February 2017. The purpose of the project is to construct a 913MW combined cycle power plant in the Lamerd Special Economic Zone within the southern province of Fars and supply electricity to the aluminum smelter run by South Aluminum Corporation (SALCO or شرکت آلومینیوم جنوب). The project also involves the construction of an 11 km electricity transmission line, a 35 kilometer electricity transmission line, a 230kV electricity substation, and a 400kV electricity substation to evacuate power from the power plant to the national grid. The plant itself is located at the 8th km on Lamerd-Khonj road with the city of Lamerd. The locational coordinates of the plant are 27.335372, 53.157570. The construction of the plant is being implemented on a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis and financed with 85% debt and 15% equity. Ghadir Electricity & Energy Investment Co. and China National Electric Engineering Co (CNEEC) are the contractors responsible for implementation. By June 2019, the power plant was apparently under construction, including preliminary civil works. Then, in 2020, the first phase of the aluminum smelter launched (with two additional phases slated for 2025). As of August 2022, the project had achieved a 40% completion rate and the construction of the 11 km electricity transmission line and the electricity substations had reached completion. The Chinese Government has also provided a loan for the construction of the aluminum smelter run by South Aluminum Corporation (captured in Record ID#85267).