Theun-Hinboun Power strikes loan deal for expansion project

(KPL) The Theun Hinboun Power Company Limited (THPC), the owner of the 220-MW Theun Hinboun Hydropower Project located on Nam Theun and Nam Hinboun river basins in Borikhamsay Province, approximately 280km from Vientiane, signs loan agreements worth USD 600 million to support the construction of the Theun Hinboun Expansion Project on October 8, 2008 at the Conrad Hotel in Bangkok.
Dr. Prasarn Trairatvorakul, President of Kasikorn Bank, Dr. Apichai Boontherawara, Managing Director of the Export - Import Bank of Thailand, Mr. Jeckie Surtani, Head of Project Finance Asia, KBC Bank, N.V. As well as representative from BNP Paribas, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited, Siam City Bank Public Company Limited and Thanachart Bank Public Company Limited, signed the loan agreements with Dr. David L. Michaels from THPC. The signing ceremony was also witnessed by Mr. Viraphonh Viravong, Director General, Department of Electricity, Ministry of Energy and Mining, of the Lao PDR, Mr. Khammany Inthirath, Managing Director of Electricite du Laos, and Mr. Jan Cedewell, Director Project Development Stathraft as a sponsor of the Expansion project.
According to the press release from THPC, the Company's original 220MW hydropower project started construction in 1995 and commenced commercial operation in March 1998, from which date substantially all of the electrical energy produced thereof has been supplied to Thailand under a long-term power purchase agreement with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. In the past 10 years, Theun Hinboun Power project has been a stable source of revenue to the Government of Lao from taxes, royalties and dividends received from the 60% ownership in the Company through the Electricite du Laos.To meet with the increasing demand for power of both Thailand and the Lao PDR, in 2007 THPC has decided to expand its existing 220MW generating capacity to 500MW. The loan will be used to finance the construction of an upstream dam to create storage reservoir to allow the project to utilize the significant water resources which are currently being spilled by the existing project facilities, creating a new tunnel to divert water to the power house located downstream, and installing additional turbines to increase the existing capacity by 280MW from 220 MW to 500 MW by 2012. the project calls for an investment of USD 665 million and the construction will take 4years from 2008 to 2012.
Once completed, the Theun Hinboun Power Project will have a combined capacity of 500 MW, approximately 88% of which will be for sale to Thailand with the remaining for local consumption in the Laos .