Sapphire achieves financial close: 225 megawatts power plant documents signed

The Sapphire Electric Company Limited (SECL) on Wednesday achieved financial close of its 225 mw thermal power plant to be set up at Muridke, near Lahore. Shahid Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of SECL, and Khalid Irfan Rahman, Managing Director of Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB), signed the documents on completion of the financial close.
Representatives of the financing banks and other officials of SECL and PPIB witnessed the signing ceremony, which took place at PPIB office. Capable of operating on dual fuel, the power plant would be based on combined cycle technology, with gas as the primary fuel.
The estimated cost of the project is over $185 million. The Sapphire Group and Xenel International (Saudi Arabia) are equity partners in the project, while a consortium of Habib Bank, Muslim Commercial Bank, United Bank, Allied Bank and National Bank Pakistan is providing over Rs 9 billion as debt.
The plant is expected to start commercial operation early in 2009. The Sapphire project is one of the 18 IPPs of 3000 mw expected to be commissioned by 2010.