Cross-border team advises lenders in financing of Singrobo-Ahouaty hydropower project in Côte d’Ivoire

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright advised the lenders in the financing of the Singrobo-Ahouaty 44MW hydropower project in West Africa.

This is the first independent, hydro power production project to be developed by IHE Holding - a local sponsor in Côte d'Ivoire - alongside Africa Finance Corporation and Themis, a Denham Capital-backed company.

The plant, located on the Bandama river, 150 km from Abidjan, will connect rural inhabitants in the surrounding villages to the national grid. It will improve power supply reliability and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The project, which aligns with the African Development Bank's New Deal on Energy for Africa, will thus increase energy access for the population and the share of renewables in Côte d'Ivoire's energy mix.

The financing package was made up of:

• a senior financing of circa €174.3m arranged by the African Development Bank, which acted as mandated lead arranger, and provided by lenders African Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation, Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), and The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund Limited (a PIDG company managed by Ninety One); and
• an additional financing of circa €35.3m provided by Africa Finance Corporation to finance the infrastructure for the evacuation of the electrical energy produced by the plant, as well as the environmental and social compensation scheme.

The Norton Rose Fulbright team advising senior lenders on this transaction was led by Paris-based energy partner Simon Cudennec and included senior associates Marie Zelazko and Adnen Ben Naser, and associate Lara Clarke. The team was assisted by counsel Véronique Bruel on certain financing aspects, partner Janet Butterworth on English law aspects of transaction documents, partner Andrew Hart and associate Jens Nessow in relation to English law corporate aspects, and partner Dirk Trautmann in relation to German law corporate aspects.

The Norton Rose Fulbright team advising Africa Finance Corporation on the additional financing was led by Paris-based partner Christine Ezcutari and included counsel Paolo Pinna, and associates Lorraine Viard and Emilie Jacques.

The lenders were also advised by the banking and project finance department of Ivorian law firm Bilé-Aka, Brizoua-Bi & Associés, represented for this transaction by partner Michel Brizoua-Bi, Constant Kimou and Bruno Walé.

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