CLP India completes $228M refinancing for Jhajjar plant

CLP India raised US$288 million to refinance part of its existing  loan for its 1,320 MW  power project in Jhajjar. The funding came from five international and Chinese banks. The transaction, made possible by the country’s External Commercial Borrowings  policy, also marks the first time PRC lenders participated in a power project finance transaction in India.

This is one of the first Indian coal-fired projects to be project-financed by overseas lenders since the Dabhol power project in the 1990s.


“The fact that international banks are providing uncovered debt to the Jhajjar project underpins the confidence of these foreign banks in the project and the Indian power sector. It clearly represents a landmark transaction for the Jhajjar project, the entire CLP Group as well as IPPs in India,” said Mr Mark Takahashi, Group Director & Chief Financial Officer of CLP.



The five financial institutions involved in the syndicated loan are: China Development Bank, The Export-Import Bank of China, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, The Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.  The deal was recently awarded the Indian Deal of the Year by Project Finance International.

The project had previously received financing amounting to US$860 million in loans, part of which will now be refinanced, using the cheaper ECB financing. Total investment in the Jhajjar project amounts up to approximately US$1.3 billion. CLP India itself has committed an investment of approximately US$2.1 billion in the country.