MEDIA RELEASE PR38312
ContourGlobal is Awarded African Private Power Deal of the Year for its 100 MW Project in Togo
LOME, Feb.12 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Cooperation with Togo produces largest infrastructure investment in
country's history
ContourGlobal Togo SA announced today that its 100 MW tri-fuel power
project has been awarded African Private Power Deal of the Year 2009 by
Euromoney's Project Finance Magazine. Minister Dammipi Noupokou, the Togolese
Minister of Mines and Energy, and representatives from ContourGlobal will
accept the award on behalf of the project at the Annual Euromoney Project
Finance Awards Dinner in London on 11 February 2010.
ContourGlobal Togo's state-of-the-art 100 MW project is nearing
completion and will begin full commercial operations in April 2010, four
months ahead of schedule and eleven months after Wartsila, the equipment
supplier and constructor of the power plant, broke ground in Lome.
ContourGlobal's project will bring affordable and reliable power to a region
in which less than 15% of the population has access to electricity. Permitted
to exacting World Bank environmental standards, the power generation facility
is also the first project to be successfully developed in the region since
the West African Gas Pipeline commenced operations.
The citation accompanying the award, published in the March 2010 issue of
Euromoney's Project Finance magazine, drew attention to the "triple firsts"
represented by the project: the largest infrastructure investment in the
country's history, the first independent power project in the country and the
country's first project financing. ContourGlobal's power generating facility
is also "triple fuel," being able to instantaneously switch between natural
gas, heavy fuel oil and diesel, thereby providing an operating flexibility
unparalleled in the region. The project's fuel switching flexibility ensures
that the facility can generate electricity for Togo even if natural gas, its
primary fuel source, is unavailable.
The project's financing was solely arranged and funded by the United
States' Overseas Private Investment Corporation ("OPIC") and OPIC also
underwrote the political risk insurance for the project.
Joseph Brandt, President and Chief Executive Officer of ContourGlobal,
stated, "We are thrilled with the recognition that has been given today to
ContourGlobal's Togo project. In just two months we will begin supplying 100
MW of affordable and reliable electricity to the region and will more than
double the amount of electricity currently produced in Togo. The project's
success is a tribute to the bold and deliberate efforts by President Faure
Gnassingbe and the Togolese government to support and encourage private
investment in Togo's infrastructure. We are proud to be their partners in
developing the Togolese economy."
The Minister of Mines and Energy of the Republic of Togo, Mr. Dammipi
Noupokou expressed: "The reliable power generated by ContourGlobal Togo will
accelerate economic development in Togo and allow us to significantly
increase access to electricity to our population and our local businesses and
industries. It is the first of its kind in Togo in terms of the magnitude of
cooperation with private investors in the power sector. This project is
extremely important for us and the West Africa sub region."
ContourGlobal is a power and energy operating and development company
headquartered in New York with approximately 900 employees worldwide and over
1,300 MW of capacity in operation, under construction, or in active
development in a diverse set of markets including the United States, the
European Union, Brazil, Colombia, Togo, Rwanda, Nigeria and Ukraine. The
Company develops and operates electric and combined heat and power businesses
around the world for both governments and multinational companies.
ContourGlobal focuses both upon high-growth, under-served markets and
innovative niches within developed markets - such as renewable energy and
Combined Heat and Power (CHP).
In Africa, ContourGlobal is currently constructing, operating or
developing electricity generating projects in four countries: Togo, Nigeria,
Rwanda and Kenya. The company is also actively developing additional projects
throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
In addition to ContourGlobal, the Government of Togo, and the Overseas
Private Investment Corporation, project participants and advisors for the
project are: Wartsila , ERM, Gide Loyrette Nouel, Shearman & Sterling ,
Aquereburu & Partners, Allen & Overy, SCP Martial Akakpo, Sargent & Lundy,
Afrique Ingenierie Et Experts Consultants, SKM, Marsh & McLennan, Purvin &
Gertz, Moore-McNeil, Citibank Trust Services, Ecobank-Togo, and Financial
Bank-Togo.
SOURCE: ContourGlobal
CONTACT:
Kathleen Valadez of ContourGlobal,
+1-212-610-9148,
Kathleen.Valadez@ContourGlobal.com
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