ICBC provides $13.3 million loan for Zhanatas Wind Power Project

On October 14, 2020, Zhanatas Wind-Power Station LLP (札纳塔斯风电有限责任公司 or Тоо Жанатасская Ветровая Электростанция) — a special purpose vehicle and joint venture of China Power International Holding (CPIH) [80% equity stake] and Visor Investment Cooperatief [20% equity stake] — signed a set of loan agreements (worth $95.3 million for the 100MW Zhanatas Wind Power Project. Zhanatas Wind-Power Station LLP signed a $34.4 million loan agreement with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a $24.8 million loan agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a $22.9 million loan agreement with the Green Climate Fund, and a $13.3 million loan agreement with the Almaty Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (captured via Project ID#88650). The borrowing terms of the ICBC (Almaty) loan are unknown. ICBC (Almaty) served as a lender, security agent, and bookrunner for the project. The total cost of this independent power project (IPP) is $139.9 million and it is being financed according to a debt-to-equity ratio of approximately 68:32. The purpose of the project is to construct and operate a 100 MW wind farm near the town of Zhanatas in the Zhambyl region of south Kazakhstan. The project involves the (a) installation of forty, EN121, 2.5MW wind turbine units and electrical equipment (including a booster station and a complex building); and (b) the construction of an 8.6 km 110kV single circuit line connecting to an existing substation (the Opornaya transformer substation owned by KEGOG). The project site is located on a the hilly area 9 km south of the village of Zhanatas at 69.53–69.85 degrees east longitude and 43.41–43.59 degrees north latitude. The project site consists of 233 hectares. Upon completion, the power plant is expected to annually provide Kazakhstan with approximately 320 gigawatt hours of renewable energy and help reduce the country's annual CO2 emissions by approximately 262,000 tons. Sinohydro Co., Ltd is the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. Construction commenced in January 2019 and was originally scheduled to last 16 months. By March 2019, a container-type construction office and worker camp had been built and foundation pits for 2 turbines had been dug. In March 2019, 120 workers were involved in construction but in peak time up to 250 workers are expected to be needed. Most of the workers will be local from nearby villages and Zhanatas. Then, on June 20, 2021, the power plant went into full operation when its last turbine was connected to the power grid.

Additional details

1. The law firm White & Case LLP advised Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) on the project financing package for Zhanatas Wind-Power Station LLP. The White & Case team which advised in the transaction was led by partner David Li (Beijing) and included partners Fergus Smith, Matthew Osborne (both Singapore), Melody Chan (Hong Kong, China), Claire Matheson Kirton (Dubai) and Maxim Telemtayev (Nur-Sultan), and associates Tianren Liu (Beijing), Chingiz Kraibekov, Aigerim Raikhanova (both Nur-Sultan), Nettie Choo (Singapore), Wilson Leung (Hong Kong, China) and Mikaela Nikolausson (Dubai). 2. China Power International Holding Ltd. is a Chinese state-owned power utility 100% owned by the China State Power Investment Corporation which is one of the largest power utility conglomerates in the world with annual revenue of USD 34 billion (2019) and 73 GW of renewable projects installed. Visor Investment Cooperatief is a private investment holding firm founded by a group of Kazakh investment bankers. 3. This is the second deal signed under the EBRD’s Kazakhstan Renewables Framework Phase II, which – after being approved in September 2019 – agreed to inject €300mn in debt financing into renewable energy generation and grid transmission. Policymakers in Kazakhstan have said they want to transition the country – which is currently reliant on coal for its electricity – towards a greener economy in the next decade. 4. AidData has coded this transaction as a collateralized loan because the Almaty Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China 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. 5. The Chinese project title is 札纳塔斯风电 or 建设和运营位于江布尔州萨雷苏区札纳塔斯市的100 MW风电项目. The Russian project title is Проект Жанатасской ветряной электростанции. 6. There is some disagreement among sources on the construction start date. Some sources indicate that construction began in January 2019 and others indicate that construction began on July 15, 2019 or July 16, 2019. For the time being, AidData uses the earlier date.

Number of official sources

13

Number of total sources

27