China Huadian Signs $1.56 Billion Loan Agreement to Develop Hydropower Projects in Sichuan Province

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A syndicated loan agreement was signed on June 20 for hydropower projects in Sichuan province's Muli River Valley that will be developed and invested by the Muli River Development Company (Xichang), a subsidiary of China Huadian Corporation (Beijing).

The load will cover four projects in the river valley -- Shangtongba, Kajiwa, Egongbao and Lizhou -- as well as other projects in the river's tributaries. The total installed capacity of these projects will be 1,145 megawatts, with an annual average power output of 4.82 billion kilowatt-hours and a total investment of about $2 billion. The projects are expected to start construction this year and begin operation in 2010.

The banks involved with the loan include: State Development Bank, China Huadian Finance Company, Bank of China (HKG:3988) (Beijing), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (HKG:1398) (Beijing) and the Agricultural Bank of China. The $1.56 billion loan is the largest loan China Huadian has ever received.

As one the top five nationwide power producers, China Huadian's assets in Sichuan mainly focus on thermal power, which accounts for about 75% of the company's total installed capacity. In response to the nation's policy of accelerating the growth of renewable energy, the company's Sichuan branch has been vigorously promoting advancements in hydropower. Building hydropower projects in the Muli River Valley is one of the company's goals in hydropower development.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.