Recent Representative Transactions

Some water industry projects we have recently been involved in include:

• Hamma Water Desalination Company, the project company owned by General Electric Company and Algerian Energy Company, in the “build, own, operate” financing of the Hamma RO Project, a $270 million, 200,000 cm/d reverse osmosis desalination facility near Algiers, the largest desalination plant in Africa and the first PPP in Algeria.

• The lenders in the $2.5 billion Shuaibah Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP) in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest greenfield IWPP in terms of financing - named "EMEA Project Finance Deal of the Year" at the 2006 IFLR Awards, and "EMEA Power Deal of the Year 2005" by PFI Yearbook 2006 and Euromoney's Project Finance Magazine.

• The project company in the 585 MW power and 30 million-gallon-a-day water facility constituting the Sohar Independent Power and Water Desalination Project in Oman. We advised the project company in the $544 million debt package for the developer group led by Belgium’s Suez–Tractebel and including five local partners – National Trading Company, Zubair Corporation, WJ Towell & Company, Sogex Oman and the Ministry of Defence Pension Fund. The project was named "Middle East Power and Water Deal of the Year 2004" by Project Finance magazine.

• Various bidders in the development and financing of the 2500 MW power and 176 million-gallon-a-day fresh water facility Marafiq IWPP in Saudi Arabia.

• The project consortium in connection with the financing of the Taweelah RO Project, a 225,000 cm/d reverse osmosis desalination facility in Abu Dhabi.

• Various bidders for the development of the 500 MW, 150 million cm/d Barka II IWPP and the acquisition of the 668 MW Rusayl IPP, both in Oman.

• Various bidders for the acquisition of existing 662 MW, 100 million g/d fresh water facility and addition of a further 225 MW power capacity at Fujairah in the UAE.

• The project company in the $1.2 billion financing of the acquisition and subsequent expansion of the Hidd IWPP in Bahrain, the first privatisation project in the Kingdom.

• Bidding parties in the Taweelah B IWPP in Abu Dhabi for the acquisition of the existing 1,070–MW, 100 million g/d “B” station and its expansion, on a build–operate basis, to take a total output of up to 2,000 MW and 160 million g/d of water desalination.

• The commercial lenders in the $1.8 billion Umm al–Nar IWPP financing in Abu Dhabi, which involved the acquisition of an existing 850 MW and 162 million g/d power and water desalination station and the addition of 1,550 MW and 25 million g/d of new facility. The total project cost was $2.1 billion and, at 2200 MW, it is the largest power and water project financing in the region to date with one of the largest Sharia–compliant Islamic financing tranches funded so far. The project was named "Middle East Power and Water Deal of the Year 2003" by Project Finance magazine.

• A consortium in the $1.4 billion expansion financing of the Taweelah A1 IWPP in Abu Dhabi, which involved an acquisition and an expansion of existing assets; the project was recognized as one of the leading transactions in the market in 2001, as evidenced by the following awards:

  • Project Finance Loan of the Year – Emerging Markets in Europe and Asia , awarded by International Financing Review

  • Private Sale of the Year Award – Middle East and North Africa , awarded by Privatisation International

  • Deal of the Year, Middle East and African Power , awarded by Project Finance International

  • Middle East and African Project Deal of the Year , awarded by Project Finance

  • A consortium in connection with its bid for the Shuweihat IWPP and Taweelah A2 IWPP in Abu Dhabi.

• A sponsor in its bid for a 750 MW power generation and sea water desalination project at Ras Laffan in Qatar.

• BNP Paribas as a lender supporting a bid by Suez-Tractebel S.A. and Global Energy and Water Co., Ltd. in connection with a 900 MW power and 880,000 cubic metre/day desalination plant to be constructed at a projected cost of US$1.8 billion south of Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

• BNP Paribas as a lender supporting a bid by Suez-Tractebel S.A. and Global Energy and Water Co., Ltd. in connection with a 2,400 MW power and 300,000 cubic metre/day desalination plant to be constructed projected cost of US$1.8 billion in Jubail Industrial City in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

• Vivendi Water S.A. in the acquisition of the international water services businesses of AWG PLC (Anglian Water). These businesses included significant operations in the Czech Republic, smaller operations in Ireland and Norway, a controlling interest in a publicly traded water company in Chile, and operations in Asia.

• financial investor in its US$400 million purchase from, and lease to the City of Nuremburg of two municipal wastewater treatment facilities.

• Chrysler in the US$400 million purchase from, and lease to the City of Stuttgart, of three municipal wastewater treatment facilities.

• Kommunalkredit Austria AG as lender in the leveraged lease-to-service contract US$600 million financing of portions of the municipal wastewater infrastructure and collection system for the City of Vienna.

• Deutsche  Bank AG London as arranger of an equity payment undertaking agreement issued  by an Irish SPV, in the cross-border lease of wastewater treatment plants owned  by the City of Mannheim.

• Norddeutsche  Landesbank Luxembourg S.A., Norddeutsche Landesbank  Girozentrale, Landesbank Sachsen Girozentrale, and Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg, in a US$1.4 billion series of defeased leveraged lease-to-service-contract financings for:

  • the Hagen and Iserlohn wastewater treatment plants and associated collectors operated by Ruhrverband, a waste management association for the Ruhr River Region in North Rhine-Westphalia;

  • the Bottrop wastewater treatment plant and its associated collection system  operated by Emchergenossenschaft, a water management association  for the Emscher River region in North Rhine-Westphalia; and

  • several wastewater treatment plants and associated collectors operated by Erftverband, a water management association for the Erft River region in North Rhine-Westphalia.

• Norddeutsche Landesbank Luxembourg SA, Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, and Landesbank Sachsen Girozentrale, in a defeased leveraged lease-to-service-contract US$600 million financing of three wastewater treatment plants and associated collectors operated by the City of Bonn.

• Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau, and Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg, in a defeased leveraged lease-to-service-contract US$450 million financing of wastewater treatment plants and a portion of a wastewater collection system of the City of Bonn.

• Landesbank Sachsen Girozentrale and Deutsche Bank AG London, in a defeased leveraged lease-to-service-contract US$400 million financing of several wastewater treatment plants and associated collectors operated by the Lippeverband.

• Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale and Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg, in a partially defeased leveraged lease-to-service-contract US $750 million financing of certain portions of the wastewater collection system of the City of Cologne.

Asia

•  Mitsubishi and Tuas Power Ltd., in connection with their bid to develop, finance, and operate a US$300 million desalination plant in Singapore, whereby desalinated water will be sold to the Public Utilities Board of Singapore pursuant to a 20-year water purchase agreement.

• Bidders for the concession for the Manila water distribution system.

The Americas

• institutional investors in a transaction arranged by BNP Paribas in a leaseback financing for the wastewater treatment system in Cranston , Rhode Island

• The Orange County Water District in the proposed formation of a municipal utility district and participated in a study on the formation of a municipal utility district with the Orange County Sanitation District.

• International Water Holdings in the financing for the first stage of capital improvements to the municipal water system in Guayaquil, Ecuador.