IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has arranged a pioneering financing package of up to $80 million to fund the construction of a new wind power plant in Jordan, near the town of Tafila, the latest in a series of efforts to boost renewable energy development in the country.
The 51.75-megawatt Abour Wind Farm in southern Jordan is being built by Abour Energy Company, which is a joint venture between Xenel International and AMEA Power. The financing package includes a $28 million loan for IFC’s own account, as well as mobilized parallel loans from the Islamic Development Bank. IFC structured the transaction as an Islamic Finance Ijara transaction, its first in the renewable energy sector in the Middle East and North Africa. IFC also provided the swaps for the financing package.
“As energy demand in Jordan continues to rise, there is an urgent need to ensure new sources of power,” said Emran Mohammed Alireza, director at Xenel International. “After developing 373 megawatts of conventional power in the country, Xenel continues to demonstrate its commitment to Jordan by developing, along with its partner AMEA, the Abour Wind Farm, which will add to the country’s renewable capacity, help enhance energy security, and help make electricity cheaper for consumers.”
During the last two decades, the World Bank Group has played a key role in Jordan’s energy sector, aiding its unbundling and subsequent privatization through regulatory and financing support. IFC has also invested more than $300 million to support clean energy options in the country, enabling well over $1 billion in private sector investments in Jordan’s power distribution and generation sectors, including solar power.
“Jordan’s energy sector has been on a steady path of reform. Supporting renewable energy projects and opening the sector to private investments is a pillar of our work in Jordan and the region,” said Mouayed Makhlouf, IFC Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “We will continue to support the sector, replicating the scale achieved in solar and mobilizing new sources of private sector capital.”
Original source: IFC
Published on 6 November 2018
