The Amandi Energy consortium has reached financial close and begun construction of the $552m Amandi Energy Power Plant in Aboadze, Ghana. 

The investment required for the Amandi Project comprises $134m in equity from the sponsor group, which includes Endeavor Energy, AFG, Aldwych, Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund 2 managed by Harith General Partners (PAIDF2), and ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund (ARMHIF). 

The $418m in debt financing is provided by a group of lenders, including the US Government’s development finance institution Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which will provide a $250m loan, as well as CDC Group, which will provide an $83m loan, Nedbank and Rand Merchant Bank.

Sean Long, CEO of Endeavor, said: “Ghana embarked on a mission to strengthen its power sector that has now created an opportune time for international investing. We are very pleased to be working with Ghana’s government and the ECG, as well as the Amandi Founder Group and Aldwych, to realise this project.” 

“We’re also proud of the Denham Capital and Endeavor teams for successfully working with our committed partners to achieve financial close on the required $418m of debt financing for the Amandi Project while at the same time continuing to execute on other important power projects across the continent.”

Holger Rothenbusch, CDC’s Managing Director, Debt, added: “We are very pleased to be part of this project which is our largest debt commitment in Africa to date and has the potential to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the region, not to mention boosting existing businesses through more consistent access to power.”

Under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the 200MW combined cycle dual-fuel power project is expected to be constructed and commence producing power by April 2019.

The plant’s construction will create 400 jobs, most of which will be filled by Ghanaians, and the plant’s operations will employ up to 40 people full time.

Once constructed, the plant will be one of the most efficient power plants in the country and will produce more than 1,600 gigawatt hours per year, energising up to one million Ghanaian households. 

Tshepo Mahloele, Harith CEO and Chairman of Aldwych, said: “The financial close of the Amandi Project represents a critical moment in addressing Africa’s growing demand for reliable power infrastructure and the persistent lack of properly packaged, bankable projects in the energy space. The project will assist Ghana by realising its developmental objectives and unleashing the country’s industrial potential.”