$916 Million Hydropower Project Lao’s

Allen & Overy has advised Nam Ngiep 1 Power Company, a consortium formed by Japan’s Kansai power, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and the Lao Holding State Enterprise, on a $916 million hydropower project on Laos’ Nam Ngiep river.

Clifford Chance advised the lenders on the deal, which included the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The Japanese lender financed the project in U.S. dollars, while the Asian Development Bank financed the project in U.S. dollars and Thai baht.

This is the first time the ADB has made a Thai baht loan for a non-Thai project, and the first time that the JBIC has financed a project in Laos.

The Allen & Overy team was led by Bangkok-based project finance partner Stephen Jaggs.

DFDL and McDonald Steed McGrath acted as Laos counsel for the consortium and lenders, respectively.

The project, which is estimated to take five years to complete, is expected to provide renewable low-cost energy to the Thai and Laos power grids.

Under offtake arrangements, 95 percent of the project’s generating capacity will go to EGAT under a 27-year take-or-pay power purchase agreement. The remainder will be generated by a powerhouse at a reregulation dam and sold to state-owned Electricité du Laos.