Fin close reached on Oman's 500-MW Ibri II solar project

Financial close has been achieved on the 500-MW Ibri II solar power project in Oman, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power announced on Tuesday.

ACWA Power is leading the consortium that in March 2019 won the licence to build the USD-400-million (EUR 368.7m) photovoltaic (PV) park. Its partners in the project are Kuwait’s Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) and Alternative Energy Projects Co (AEPC).

The independent power project (IPP), to be financed on a 70/30 debt to equity ratio, has received USD 275 million in senior debt funding with a maturity of 16.5 years from a group of six lenders. The lending consortium includes the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Bank Muscat, Riyad Bank, Siemens Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Warba Bank.

Ibri II will be built at a 1,300-hectare (3,212 acres) site in Dhahirah governorate and is expected to become operational by June 2021. It will then become the largest utility-scale solar park in the Sultanate of Oman.

When working at peak capacity, Ibri II will be able to generate electricity that will be enough to cover the consumption of around 33,000 homes per year, offsetting 340,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO) emissions. It will operate under a 15-year off-take contract.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.922)

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