The first non-recourse financed project in Nicaragua has closed after months of government meetings to negotiate crucial lender protections and an incremental financing structure into the project documents.
The second and final phase of the expansion of Ram Power’s San Jacinto-Tizate geothermal power project completed in early November. But the groundwork for the $160 million financing, led by International Finance Corporation (IFC), was laid during the $77 million phase I funding.
The sponsor and lenders collaborated in initial negotiations to introduce the Ministry of Energy & Mines to fundamental non-recourse concepts. After five months of meetings the concession agreement and generation licence were amended to incorporate these principles, as well as to set up a phase II expansion under a stand-alone credit facility.
“We had to restructure the project contracts as well as structure the phase I financing to allow for ease of phase II financing on parri passu terms,”...