International Finance Corp, the private sector lending arm of World Bank group, will provide a loan of up to $48 million to Surajbari Windfarm Development for the development of two wind farms, with a combined capacity of 170 MW, in Madhya Pradesh.
While IFC proposes to provide ‘A’ loan of up to $48 million, it will also arrange through syndication around $96 million, according to a statement issued by IFC.
The total cost of the proposed wind farms, to be developed by Surajbari Windfarm’s wholly owned subsidiaries DJ Energy Pvt Ltd (DJEPL) and Uttar Urja Projects Pvt Ltd (UUPPL), is estimated at about $194 million.
The two companies are now looking to sign a pact with INOX Wind Ltd and Inox Wind Infrastructure Services Ltd, a group company of IFC’s another investee company Inox Renewables (Jaisalmer) Ltd, for designing, developing and commissioning the projects.
The electricity generated from the wind farms will be sold to state-run MP Power Management Co Ltd.
The projects will be located near the villages of Mamathekheda and Pingrala of Ratlam district and Mandsaur in Malwa district.
Surajbari Windfarm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Continuum Wind Energy, which is promoted by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Continuum Energy. Presently, Surajbari Windfarm has nearly 127 MW of capacity under operation in Gujarat and Maharashtra and is developing another 115 MW project in Maharashtra.
Continuum Wind Energy was set up in 2010 by Arvind Bansal, an investment banker; Vikash Saraf, a former Essar Group director; Sukant Gupta, a former Wipro executive; Ashish Swarup, a former executive of Asian Pulp & Paper and Gautam Chopra, a banker. It started operations in India through its acquisition of Surajbari Wind Farm Development Pvt Ltd, operating in Kutch, in 2010.
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners invested around Rs 1,200 crore for a majority stake in it in 2012.
Continuum Wind Energy had acquired DJ Energy Pvt Ltd and Uttar Urja Power Projects Pvt Ltd from Delhi-based Sravanthi Group for an undisclosed amount late last year.
IFC has been an active investor in the clean energy space and as of the end of financial year 2012-13, invested over $1 billion in India’s renewable energy and clean technology sectors. IFC follows July to June calendar.
In December, IFC had extended a loan of $15.75 million to Jath Wind Energy Ltd, a special purpose vehicle sponsored by NSL Renewable Power, for the development of a 40 megawatt (MW) wind power plant in Maharashtra.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
