Taqa gets Dh1.3bn financing

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), a state-owned oil explorer and power supplier, secured a $355 million (Dh1.3 billion) project financing and government approval to expand its power plant in Ghana, it said on Monday.

Taqa, which is owned 75 per cent by the government of Abu Dhabi, will expand the Takoradi 2 (T2) power plant's capacity from 220 megawatts to 330 megawatts, the firm said in a statement.

Japan's Mitsui & Co and Korea's Kepco will start construction of the plant this month, the statement added.

The Taqa-operated T2 power plant currently represents 15 percent of Ghana's installed power production capacity. The expansion is expected to be commissioned in 2015.

The $355 million project financing will come from World Bank unit International Finance Corp (IFC) and a consortium of financial institutions that include FMO, the majority Dutch government-owned development bank, the African Development Bank, Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) and Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG).

The T2 power plant is owned by Takoradi International Co LLC (TICO), a joint venture between Taqa, who owns 90 per cent of the plant and Volta River Authority, the main generator and supplier of electricity in Ghana which owns remaining 10 percent stake.

Taqa is the operator of the facility through its wholly owned subsidiary Taqa Generation International Operating.

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