EBRD awarded for its financing of Kizildere 3 geothermal plant in Turkey
Kizildere geothermal power plant by Zorlu Enerji, Turkey (source: Zorlu Enerji)
Alexander Richter
10 Jun 2018
As part of several awards as part of the recent EMEA Finance Awards, EBRD has been named "Best project finance adviser” for the European, Middle East and Africa region, and received an award for best renewable energy project for its financing of the Kizildere 3 geothermal plant in Turkey.
The EBRD’s expertise in project financing has been recognised at the EMEA Finance awards in London, with several awards including “Best Project Finance Adviser” across the region.
In addition to being named “Best project finance adviser” for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region as a whole, EBRD-financed projects won about 20 awards; in the energy and natural resources sector and in infrastructure in a vast region spanning three continents, stretching from Egypt to Kazakhstan.
The EMEA Project Finance Awards, organised by the EMEA Finance magazine, looked at the best project finance deals that were closed in 2017. The accolade, which is in its 10th year, is given for the overall EMEA region and also for separate regional categories.
Across all of its countries of operations, the EBRD has been a pioneer in the rollout of project finance, which helps to attract a wider spread of investors, including foreign investors, by offering them greater protection. The Bank has put a particular focus on project finance in the renewable energy sector. It is the largest renewable energy financier in its region and also engages in policy reform in its countries of operations.
Project finance is a type of long-term financing, mainly of infrastructure, where repayments of the original investment are made from cash flows generated by the project, as opposed to the balance sheet of the company doing the project. This means less risk for investors and allows countries and firms to build more infrastructure.
The winning projects, listed below, have been co-financed by the EBRD, mostly in cooperation with other multilateral and commercial banks.
EMEA-wide winners:
- Best project finance adviser: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
- Best renewable energy deal: Kizildere 3 Phase II geothermal power plant project in Turkey.
- Best solar deal: Scatec Solar’s 400 MW six solar PV power plants in Egypt.
- Best sustainability programme: Egypt’s Benban 1.8GW solar park project.
- Best wind farm: Cibuk 1’s 158 MW wind farm project in Serbia.
- Best social development deal: Bilkent Laboratory PPP project in Turkey.
- Best rail deal: Tirana-Durres rail line upgrade and expansion project in Albania.
- Best repricing in EMEA: Budapest Airport’s €1.39bn loan and note debt facilities
Central and eastern Europe
- Best renewable deal: Cibuk 1’s 158 MW wind farm project in Serbia.
- Best sustainability deal: Enerya’s natural gas distribution expansion project in Turkey.
- Best transport infrastructure deal: Fraport Greece’s 40-year concession for 14 regional airports in Greece.
- Best infrastructure deal: Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) in Azerbaijan.
- Best social development deal: Electric Networks of Armenia’s distribution network modernisation.
- Best solar deal: Burnoye Solar 2’s 50 MW solar PV power plant in Kazakhstan.
- Best natural resources deal: Lapseki and Ivrindi gold mine projects in Turkey.
Africa
- Best renewable energy deal: Scatec Solar’s 400 MW six solar PV power plants in Egypt.
- Best solar deal: ACWA Power and partners Benban 120 MW solar PV projects in Egypt.
Middle East
- Best power deal: Zarqa thermal combined-cycle power plant in Jordan.
- Best solar deal: 50 MW Risha Solar PV independent power project in Jordan.
- Best wind deal: 45 MW Shobak wind farm project in Jordan.
Source: EBRD release
