China Eximbank contributes $90 million to $270.46 million syndicated loan for 200MW Bengkulu Coal-Fired Power Plant Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#69306, #69307)

ICBC and China Eximbank contributions to $270.46 million syndicated loan for 200MW Bengkulu Coal-Fired Power Plant Construction Project On October 31, 2016, PT Tenaga Listrik Bengkulu [also known as Bengkulu Power (Hong Kong) Co., LTD or Bengkulu Power, Co] — a special purpose vehicle and project company that is jointly owned by PowerChina Resources Ltd. (70%) and PT Intraco Penta, Tbk (30%) — signed a $270.46 million USD syndicated loan agreement with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Export-Import Bank of China.

ICBC contributed approximately $180 million (captured in Record ID#69306). China Eximbank contributed $90 million (captured in Record ID#61474). The loan carries a 15-year maturity. Its interest rate is unknown. ICBC is the facility agent and security agent for the loan. It is also responsible for the on-shore bank account for the loan facility.

The $360 million project was implemented as an Independent Power Project (IPP) on a Built-Operate-Own-Transfer (BOOT) basis and was financed according to a 75:25 debt-to-equity ratio. PowerChina made a $67.5 million equity contribution to the project (captured in Record ID#69307). Sinosure provided overseas investment insurance.

Financial closure was reached in June 2017.

The purpose of the project was to install a 200-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant — with two 100MW generators (Unit 1 and Unit 2) — in the village of Teluk Sepang on Port of Baai Island, Bengkulu City, Regency, South Sumatra Province (exact locational coordinates: -3.9123478, 102.270375).

On November 25, 2015, PowerChina signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), an Indonesian government-owned corporation that has a monopoly on electricity distribution in Indonesia and generates the majority of the country's electrical power. PowerChina was also the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor responsible for implementation.

Construction started on February 21, 2017. The project reached its commercial operations date (COD) was November 29, 2019. However, it was also plagued by some degree of controversy.

In May 2018, a number of farmers in Bengkulu city expressed opposition to the plant because its construction was damming a stream and causing their land to flood. In August 2018, dozens of residents of Bengkulu City held a demonstration in opposition to the plant.

In February 2020, fishermen and civil society organizations floated a 20m x 12m banner in the bay near the site of the plant as President Joko Widodo visited Bengkulu.