Cenpower announces US$249m equity financing of Kpone ipp plant

The Cenpower Generation Company Limited, a special purpose vehicle, has concluded a US$900 million facility to develop the 350 megawatt Kpone Independent Power Plant (KIPP) in Tema.

The plant, scheduled to start production in 2017, will be the largest private independent power plant in the country, accounting for approximately 10 per cent of the country’s total installed capacity and approximately 20 per cent of its available thermal generation capacity. 

As a combined cycle gas turbine plant, the KIPP will be one of Ghana’s most fuel-efficient thermal power stations and a critical base-load component in meeting Ghana’s growing electricity demand.  

Three leading investors

The deal, which was announced in London, has three leading investment groups which will join the equity investor consortium. 

The three are the Sumitomo Corporation of Japan, the Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) and FMO, the Dutch Development Bank, thereby facilitating the exit of Infraco Limited, a seed investor and, through its principal developer, eleQtra, co-developer of the project. 

The equity holders in Cenpower, will, therefore, be the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), 31.85 per cent; Cenpower Holdings, 21 per cent; Sumitomo, 28 per cent; AIIM,15 per cent, and FMO, 4.15 per cent.

Views of partners

The Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of the AFC, Mr Oliver Andrews, said during the announcement that the transaction was another key milestone for Cenpower, as it drew nearer to a financial close. 

He was delighted to welcome on board long-term investors of international standing and calibre, a fact that reflected Africa’s increasing appeal as an investment destination and the commitment of the private sector to address the continent’s infrastructural funding gap.

The Senior Project Manager of Sumitomo, Mr Tomoyuki Wada, observed that sub-Saharan Africa was growing in strategic importance for his corporation and that in backing the Cenpower project, Sumitomo was looking forward not only to providing technological know-how and experience but also contributing to Ghana’s development.

A partner of eleQtra, Mr Ebbe Hamilton, for his part, said Infraco and eleQtra were delighted to be part of the ground-breaking Cenpower project.  

He expressed delight at Sumitomo joining a truly African project which had eleQtra as a proud development team member.

Gratitude

The Chairman of Cenpower, Samuel Brew-Butler, thanked the entire project development team at eleQtra/InfraCo and AFC for sharing in the vision for Kpone and contributing to bring the project to its current stage. 

“Recognising the crucial role that Cenpower will play in meeting Ghana’s future electricity needs, all of us equity investors are all further galvanised to bring Kpone into production on time and on budget,” he added.