Firm advises sponsors on $1.74 billion financing of Cirebon coal-fired power plant expansion project in Indonesia
Latham & Watkins advised the sponsors in the US$1.74 billion financing for the development of the Cirebon coal-fired power plant expansion project in Indonesia.
The project involves the construction, ownership, and operation by PT. Cirebon Energi Prasarana (CEPR) of an ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant with an installed capacity of 1,000MW (1,000MW x 1 unit) in Cirebon Regency, West Java, Indonesia. The electricity from this plant will be sold to PT PLN (Persero), a state-owned power utility in Indonesia, for 25 years. The sponsors for this project include Marubeni Corporation, Korea Midland Power Co., Ltd., PT Indika Energy Tbk, Samtan Co., Ltd., JERA Co., Inc. and PT Imeco Inter Sarana. The lender syndicate was comprised of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and ING Bank N.V. The financing provided by the commercial bank lenders will be covered by insurance from Nippon Export and Investment Insurance and guarantees from the Export-Import Bank of Korea. This project is positioned as part of the Indonesia government’s commitment to promote its 35,000MW power plant construction program over the five-year period from 2015 to 2019.
Latham represented the sponsors in connection with the project development and financing, led by Tokyo partners Joseph Bevash and Michael Yoshii, and Singapore partners Clarinda Tjia-Dharmadi and Andrew Roche. The Latham team also included Tokyo partner Hiroki Kobayashi, Singapore counsel Owain Davies, Hong Kong associate Katherine Watlington, Tokyo associate Brett LoVellette, and Singapore associate Charles Anderson.
Latham & Watkins has over 25 years of experience advising on project financings in Indonesia. Since advising on the original Paiton project in 1992, the firm has closed more than 25 projects with a combined capacity in excess of 13,000MW in the country.
