Clifford Chance, a leading global law firm, said it had played a key role as advisor to Engie, a world leader in the energy transition, on the refinancing of the Al Dur Power and Water Project in Bahrain.

Awarded in 2008 to a consortium of Engie and Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC), the Al Dur independent water and power project (IWPP) is a flagship power project in Bahrain, accounting for one-third of the country's power and water production, with a capacity of 1,243 MW in respect of power and 48 million gallons per day (gpd) in respect of water.

The new 10-year $1.31 billion refinancing contains all existing commercial lenders active in the Middle Eastern project finance market, and was required due to the original financing taking place in mid-2009, during the global financial crisis.   

Given the challenging market conditions in Bahrain at the time of this refinancing, Engie opted for a bank financing. The financing featured a dual tranche structure, and included over 20 regional and international lenders, via conventional and Islamic facilities.

Willem Van den Abeele, the senior financial advisor, at Engie, said: "We are delighted to have completed the refinancing of Al Dur. We have a long track record of working with the Clifford Chance team on Middle East power projects – their expertise, combined with Engie's expertise in Bahrain, was key in ensuring a well-structured financing plan that resulted in the successful signing of the transaction and ensured zero interruption in the operations of the project."

Mohamed Hamra Krouha, the projects partner leading the team at Clifford Chance, said: "We are pleased for Engie and GIC having completed the refinancing of Al Dur in an ambitious timeframe. The transaction required our market-leading project finance team to work very closely with Engie and GIC to get this complex transaction to signing within the targeted timeline."

The global Clifford Chance team included partners Hamra-Krouha (Abu Dhabi), Richard Parris (Abu Dhabi), senior associates Abimbola Lawore (Abu Dhabi) and Jennifer Riddle (Abu Dhabi), associate Mavi Mudiaga-Erheuh (Abu Dhabi) and trainee solicitor Ilaria Ribis (Abu Dhabi), said the statement.

Additional support was provided by partner Johannes Juette (Singapore), counsel Cheuk yin Cheung (Dubai) and senior associate Miles Binney (Singapore).  Hassan Radhi & Associates acted as Bahraini law counsel, it added.-TradeArabia News Service