CDB provides $830 million loan for 300 MW Amaria Hydropower Plant Construction Project

On April 30, 2019, Amaria Hydraulic & Electrical Development Corporation SAU (la Société Amaria Hydraulic and Electrical Développement corporation SAU or AHDEC SA or 阿玛利亚水电开发公司 or 阿玛利亚水电开发股份有限公司) — a special purpose vehicle and wholly-owned subsidiary of China's TBEA Co., Ltd. — signed a concession agreement for the 300 MW Amaria Hydropower Plant Construction Project. In 2020, China Development Bank (CDB) subsequently issued an $830 million loan to Amaria Hydraulic & Electrical Development Corporation SAU for the 300 MW Amaria Hydropower Plant Construction Project. The estimated borrowing terms of the loan are as follows: a 15-year maturity and a 6% interest rate. The loan is reportedly backed by a Sinosure credit insurance policy and collateralized against a $30 million minimum cash balance in a debt service reserve account (DSRA) prior to the commissioning of the power plant. The borrower (Amaria Hydraulic & Electrical Development Corporation SAU) also signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the state-owned power utility, Electricité de Guinée (EDG), and the Government of Guinea guaranteed the power purchase payments under the PPA. The total cost of the independent power plant (IPP) project is $1,154,030,000. It is being built on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis and financed according to a debt-to-equity ratio of 82:18. The purpose of the project is to construct a 300 MW hydroelectric power plant that is located downstream along the Konkoure River. The power plant is expected to provide power for a 30 metric tons per year bauxite mine and an aluminum smelter. TBEA is the contractor responsible for project implementation. Civil works commenced on January 19, 2018. The project was originally expected to reach completion within 56 months (September 19, 2022) and create 10,000 direct jobs. Aly Seydouba Soumah, Guinea Minister of Energy, Hydropower and Hydrocarbons, conducted a project site visit on November 26, 2022.

Additional details

1. The French project title is Les travaux du barrage hydro-électrique intégré d’Amaria. The Chinese project title is 特变电工集团几内亚阿玛利亚水电站项目 or 几内亚阿玛利亚水电站项目 or 特变电工几内亚水电站项目 or 几内亚阿玛利亚水电站 or 几内亚阿玛利亚水电站特 or 特变电工集团几内亚阿玛利亚水电站项目 or 阿玛利亚项目. 2. For the time being, AidData assumes that the financial (loan) commitment year was 2020, given that law firm source (https://www.dropbox.com/s/d01jv08hswh2mal/SSQ%20ALB%20China%20Law%20Awards%202020%20_%20Asian%20Legal%20Business.pdf?dl=0) with first hand knowledge of the transaction seems to suggest that financial close was achieved in 2020. 3. Some sources suggest that a syndicated loan was issued by China Development Bank and China Eximbank for the 300MW Amaria Hydropower Plant Construction Project. This issue warrants further investigation. 4. The estimated borrowing terms are based on a public filing by TBEA on April 30, 2019 (see https://q.stock.sohu.com/cn,gg,600089,3694943539.shtml).

Number of official sources

21

Number of total sources

38