Azito expansion reaches financial close

Azito Energie, a subsidiary of Globeleq and IPS (West Africa), has reached financial close on a 253MW expansion to its Azito gas-fired power plant, located near Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The upgrade to the 460MW plant is financed on a debt-to-equity ratio of 80:20 via a €264 million loan from the IFC, the African Development Bank, the West African Development Bank, the OPEC Fund for International Development, and several European DFIs, namely the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries, the German Investment Corporation, the Societe de Promotion et de Participation Pour la Cooperation Economique, and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund. Construction on the project is underway and the plant is expected to produce power this year, with electricity to be sold to the Cote d’Ivoire government in accordance with a 20-year concession agreement.