Electricity Distribution Company (EDCO) and Irbid District Electricity Company (IDECO)

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In July 2008, the government of Jordan divested 100% of the Electricity Distribution Company (EDCO) and its remaining share, 55.4%, of the Irbid District Electricity Company Irbid District Electricity Company (IDECO). 44.6% of IDECO were divested in 1977. The shares of two companies were sold for US$104 million to Kingdom Electricity Company (KEC), a joint venture composed by JD Capital, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding (40%), Kuwait Privatisation Projects Holding Co (KPPHC), a subsidiary of National Industries Group (30%) and United Arab Investors (30%). The divestiture followed a competitive bidding process. The final tender was in June 2006. While there were several bids by local and regional investors to acquire IDECO, Kingdom Electricity was the only bidder for EDCO. The government of Jordan considered Kingdom Electricity's offer as the most attractive proposal overall. Kingdom Electricity was declared preferred bidder in November 2007 and the transaction was finalised in July 2008. EDCO was expected to receive a US$49 million loan from IFC in 2009. As of December 2008, the Electricity Distribution Company (EDCO) was headquartered in Amman and owned and operated the distribution network in the Southern and Eastern areas of Jordan, covering approximately 69,000 sq km and distributing electricity to 155,000 retail customers. The Irbid Electricity Distribution Company (IDECO) was headquartered in Irbid and owned and operated the electricity distribution network in the northern part of Jordan covering approximately 23,000 sq km and distributing electricity to 283,000 customers.