Barakah power plant secures $24.4bn in financing
Barakah power plant secures $24.4bn in financing
source International Atomic Energy Agency
by Jochebed Menon on Oct 27, 2016
The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant project has secured financing worth $24.4bn (AED89.6bn).
Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) announced the formal financial close.
The power plant project has secured a direct loan from the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) worth $2.5bn (AED9.8bn) and a total of $250m (AED918.2 m) of loan agreements with local and international commercial banks.
The project also acquired a direct loan from Abu Dhabi’s department of finance of up to $16.2bn (AED59.5m).
The fund will be managed by the recently created subsidiary, Barakah One, of which KEPCO owns an 18% stake.
The total amount of financing to be managed by Barakah One is valued at $24.4bn, composed of direct loan agreements of about $19.6bn (AED72bn) as well as a total of $4.7bn (17.2bn) in equity commitments.
The direct loan agreements include the overnight cost of the prime contract for the construction and commissioning of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, interest during construction and the cost of initial nuclear fuel.
Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the board of directors of ENEC said: “This financial structure reflects the world-class quality of the programme, and its credibility in the international community.”
The prime contractor for the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, KEPCO has been working together with ENEC since 2009.
ENEC and KEPCO recently entered into a joint venture agreement to establish a new, long-term partnership to complete the construction and commissioning of the Barakah project.
The energy plant is scheduled for completion by 2020, with construction having started in 2012.
With four reactors on board, the facility will deliver up to a quarter of the UAE’s electricity needs and save up to 12 million tonnes in carbon emissions every year.
The project at Barakah is progressing steadily. Overall, construction of Units 1 to 4 is now more than 71% complete.
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