Masdar's Uzbek solar project financing takes shape
Masdar is expected to close a DFI-backed loan by year-end to finance a $112 million solar PV plant in southwestern Uzbekistan.
Financed via project vehicle Nur Navoi Solar Foreign Enterprise, the 100MWac/130MWp Navoi scheme is backed by a PPA with National Electric Grid at a tariff of $0.02679 per kWh. Commercial operation is scheduled for H1 2021.
The $85 million debt package will be provided by the IFC ($40 million) and ADB ($20 million), each tranche with long-term tenors, while a $25 million mezzanine facility will be funded by EBRD. Masdar will put up $27 million in equity. The onshore SPV is the borrower of the long-term debt facilities, while the borrower of the mezzanine loan is a holding company in the United Arab Emirates entirely owned by Masdar.
Masdar – sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company’s renewable energy and sustainable urban development subsidiary – is the loan guarantor on the mezzanine tranche. World Bank Group member International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is also providing a $5 million guarantee. IBRD has yet to disclose the terms.
