On January 22, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $37.8 million loan agreement with TTC Energy Development Investment Joint Stock Company (TTC Energy) to provide the first project finance for solar power project in Vietnam. $7.6 million of which will be provided in the form of a concessional non-parallel loan to be drawn from the JICA-supported Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP) to improve the bankability and financial viability of the project and allow other lenders to provide long tenor, U.S. dollar denominated financing. The project will develop and operate the 50 MW solar power plant and its associated facilities in Tay Ninh Province, Southern Vietnam, contribute to meet the growing power demand in the Southern Vietnam as well as diversify energy sources.
Sponsors of the project are Gulf Energy Development Public Company Limited (GED) in Thailand and Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC) in Vietnam. JGC Vietnam, wholly owned entity by JGC Group, is the EPC Contractor. The project is in line with “Initiative on Overseas loan and Investment for ASEAN” announced during ASEAN Summit in November 4th 2019 to support quality infrastructure and green investment.
The LEAP Fund is a part of the follow-up measures for the “Partnership for Quality Infrastructure,” which was announced by the Japanese government Nov. 21, 2015. Targeting high quality private infrastructure projects in the Asia-Oceania region, the fund provides assistance for such projects organized under various arrangements, such as public-private partnerships.
In March 2016, JICA approved a $1.5 billion investment in private sector investment financing for the LEAP Fund. Since the fund’s launch, financial assistance totaling $500 million has been approved for a wide range of projects, such as health assurance initiatives in India and Indonesia and renewable energy projects in Mongolia among others. Thus far, LEAP has provided financing for 15 projects, and the ADB, on its own account and together with co-financers, has mobilized $5.6 billion. The LEAP Fund provides support for a wide range of sustainable infrastructure projects undertaken by the private sector in ADB member countries of the Asia-Pacific region, and is directed at projects in fields such as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, and provision of medical services at reasonable prices.
Source : jica.go.jp
