Lithuanian power plant to take eur 81 mln syndicated loan from five domestic banks

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Copyright 2007 Baltic News Service

Five Lithuania's commercial banks will extend a 81.46 million euros (LTL 281.3 mln) syndicated loan to Lithuania's state-controlled Lietuvos Elektrine (Lithuanian Power Plant).

On Dec. 12 the company and the consortium of Hansabankas, SEB Vilniaus Bankas, DnB Nord, Sampo and Nordea Bank Finland signed a loan agreement on the financing of 400 MW gas unit construction, the power plant said in a statement to the Vilnius Stock Exchange (VSE). Another bidder in the 15-year loan tender, which the power plant announced in August, included Nordic Investment Bank.

The loan will be channeled for the financing of construction of new combined cycle unit worth some 720 million litas. Early in October, the company announced an international tender for the design and construction of the new unit. The unit project is part of upgrade program of Lietuvos Elektrine, which will become the main national source of electricity following the shutdown of Ignalina plant late in 2009.

As reported earlier, the total value of Lietuvos Elektrine's upgrade projects is about 252 million euros. Own funds of the power plant comprise some 33 percent of total upgrade value. The EU provides 57 percent, and the national INPP decommissioning fund - 10 percent of the total. (EUR 1 = LTL 3.45)

Vilnius newsroom, +370 5 2058517, verslas@bns.lt

Posted in |