GHECO-One coal-fired power plant

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GHECO-One Coal-fired IPP power plant is a 660 MW coal fired project to be located in Map Ta Phut, Rayong Province in Thailand and to be developed by GHECO-One Co. Ltd. The project company was to sell its total electricity output to EGAT (Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand) through a 25 year Power Purchase Agreement which was signed in September 2008. This project was designed to be environmentally friendly, using coal clean technology with advanced emission control system on NOx and SO2. GHECO-One Co. Ltd. was created as a joint venture between Glow Energy (65%) and Hemaraj Land and Development Plc.(35%). Glow Energy's major shareholder was GDF SUEZ Energy International, which was a division of the GDF SUEZ Group. GHECO-One Co. Ltd. won the rights to develop the project in a competitive tender process to select Independent Power Producers (IPPs) which would provide electricity to EGAT and begin commercial operations between 2012 and 2014. In the tender, which concluded in December 2007, GHECO-One Co. Ltd was one of the four consortia selected as the preferred bidders among a total of 15 proposals. The bidding criteria included fuel source, technology and lowest tariff requested. The winning bidders offered to sell the electricity at between 2.14 baht and 2.65 baht a kilowatt. GHECO-One obtained the Environmental Impact Assessment approval on the project in May 2008, and signed with Korean Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction the EPC contract worth US$820 million in June 2008. GHECO-One signed the 25-year Power Purchase Agreement with EGAT in September 2008, becoming the first project among the four short-listed independent power producers to complete a PPA. Coal supply agreements with Indonesia’s PT Kaltim Prima Coal and PT Adaro were signed, covering one million metric tons per year. GHECO-One scheduled the beginning of commercial operations of this plan in November 2011. The other IPPs projects approved in the December 2007 tender were postponed by end of 2008 due to the lower growth projections for electricity demand due to the 2008 financial crisis. The total project cost was estimated at USD 1,150 million, around USD 800 million of which was expected to be financed by debt and the remaining equity. Financial closure was reached on October 9, 2008 when GHECO-One’s signed a 20.5-year debt facility to fund the construction of its 660MW power plant. The debt package comprised a US$460 million tranche and a Baht 9.96 billion (or US$291 million) domestic tranche, totaling US$761 million. Seven international banks including Bank of Tokyo - Mitsubishi UFJ, Calyon, Fortis Bank, KBC, KfW-Ipex Bank, Sumimoto Mitsui Banking Corporation and Standard Chartered provided the US dollar tranche and two local banks (Kasikornbank and Bank of Ayudhya) provided the Baht tranche. http://www.glow.co.th/OurProject/AW_GHECO-ONE_EN.pdf