Financing for Closes for OPIC-Supported Chilean Hydroelectric Power Plant
December 13, 2013
(OPIC)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Overseas Private
Investment Corporation (OPIC) recently closed a
$245 million loan to Alto Maipo SpA for the
construction of a hydroelectric power plant
east of Santiago, Chile. The power plant will
be a key generation facility for Santiago and
reduce electricity costs, as well as greenhouse
gas emissions, in a system that has become
increasingly reliant on coal and diesel
generation plants.
The OPIC loan, which is structured as a project
finance credit facility for a tenor of 20
years, is part of a $1.2 billion lending
facility enabled by a syndicate of multilateral
and commercial banks including the
Inter-American Development Bank, International
Finance Corporation, Corpbanca, Banco de
Crédito e Inversiones, Banco Itaú Chile, Banco
del Estado de Chile, KfW Ipex-Bank GmbH and DNB
Bank ASA.
The 531 MW run-of-river hydroelectric power
plant will have a significant development
impact on Chile, enhancing the reliability of
electricity supply to central Chile, the
country’s economic hub which includes Santiago,
and creating both temporary and permanent local
employment opportunities in a rural area of the
country. Additionally, the project will
improve system energy efficiency and assist in
reducing the nation’s dependence on imported
fossil fuels. Furthermore, the project has met
and is required to maintain compliance with
international environmental and social
standards.
“This plant will make remarkable strides in
providing Santiago, and rural areas of the
central Metropolitan Region, with reliant,
clean energy that will fuel both the
residential infrastructure and the job economy
in Chile, as well as in the U.S.,” said OPIC
President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield.
Virginia-based AES Corporation’s Chilean
subsidiary AES Gener S.A., alongside U.K.-based
Antofagasta plc.’s Chilean subsidiary,
Antofagasta Minerals S.A., are sponsoring the
project.
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