Saudi Electricity Co (SEC) –the largest utility company in Saudi Arabia– signed a $900m loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) among other international lenders, to help finance the construction of a 2,640MW power plant in Shuqaiq, in the southwestern Jizan province, Reuters reported.
The state-controlled SEC has previously said that it expects the total cost of the project to be $3.2b. Prime Time Reporters wrote that the facility has a 13.25-year lifespan, and is guaranteed by KEXIM. The publication added that Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Deutsche Bank, and Santander are among the lenders providing funding.A recent report published by Apicorp Energy Research stated that “Saudi Arabia will need to invest $71b to increase its capacity to 114GW”, as the Kingdom will meet rising demand with 28GW of capacity already in the pipeline. Saudi’s estimated capacity stood at around 80GW in 2015, with SEC representing around 60GW, Utilities-me reported.
Precisely, the 2.6GW Shuqaiq plant is one of the ongoing projects, in addition to the 3.1GW Yanbu 3 plant, which is expected to be on line this year. Last January, SEC secured a loan of $1.4b from Japanese banks and raised $0.7b in 2015 from local banks Samba and NCB to help with the expansion.
