ACWA EBL

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In March 2023, ACWA Power (the “Sponsor” or the “Company”) secured the rights to develop 1 GW Photovoltaic (PV) plant + 1 GWh Battery Energy Storage System (“BESS”) and approximately 475 km of high voltage transmission lines (TL) in Uzbekistan (the “Project”). The Project is composed of two sub-projects: i) Samarkand 1, which includes a 100 MW and a 400 MW PV at two locations (Samarkand region), a 500 MWh BESS plant (Samarkand region) and TLs covering an approximate distance of 78 km (72+6); ii) Samarkand 2, which includes a 500 MW PV plant (Samarkand region), a 500 MWh BESS plant (Bukhara region), one substation (in the Samarkand region), and two TLs covering an approximate distance of 412 km (72+350). Associated Facilities of the Project will include two TLs (Loop in Loop Out) (12km and 17km), connecting the Project with the local Grid and one substation in the Tashkent Region; the Associated Facilities will be designed, built and operated by the national energy grid operator (NEGU), who is also the energy off-taker of the Project. Construction activities for the Samarkand 1 project are expected to start in August 2024. The Samarkand 2 will follow, with preliminary works scheduled for the end of 2024. For this development, ACWA Power will establish two project companies (special purpose vehicles or “SPVs”) in Uzbekistan that will build and operate the two sub-projects. IFC’s proposed investment consists of an equity bridge loan (“EBL”) for up to US$ 240 million with a tenor of up to 4 years to the project SPVs, backed by a full corporate guarantee from the Sponsor. In addition to IFC’s EBL, the Sponsor will seek additional financing from international lenders (the “Lenders”).ACWA Power is a developer, investor and operator of power generation and water desalination plants. Based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ACWA Power’s assets include 81 plants in 12 countries, and the company employs approximately 4,100 people, of which some 60% are citizens of the countries of operation. ACWA Power’s portfolio has an investment value of US$ 84 billion and can generate 55 GW of power and produce 7.6 million m3/day of desalinated water. The proceeds of IFC’s financing will solely support the development of the Project, which is located in the Samarkand and Bukhara regions of Uzbekistan. The Company has five ongoing projects in Uzbekistan, which include four wind power projects and one combined cycle gas turbine power plant. In addition to the Project, the Sponsor has secured the rights to develop an additional 400MW PV + 500MWh BESS in the proximity of Tashkent, which is not included in IFC’s financing. The Sponsor is an existing IFC client, and the IFC team’s appraisal of the Project also considered ACWA’s E&S performance on existing investments that IFC has financed (link to project disclosure below) including some for which IFC is no longer involved. The Sponsor's E&S performance in these projects has been satisfactory and include:• ACWA Power Jordan #30794 & #45138: c. US$5mn equity investment alongside ACWA Power in ENARA, owner of 51% of the Central Electricity Generating Company (“CEGCO”). • ACWA Power Zarqa CCGT #38207 in Jordan: a $75m project finance for 485MW combined cycle gas fired power plant operated by ACWA.• ACWA Power Guc - Kirikkale CCGT #35395 in Türkiye: a $125n project finance for 950MW combined cycle gas fired power plant operated by ACWA.• ZBE Solar #31543 in Bulgaria: a $61m project finance for 60.4 MW solar photovoltaic power plant.