European bank lends Jordan 95 mln USD for energy project

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said Wednesday it is helping to address energy security and climate change challenges in Jordan with financing for a new energy-efficient power plant in the country.

The EBRD is providing a 95 million U.S. dollars loan for the construction of a 485 megawatt (MW) combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) thermal power station located 40 km north-east of the capital Amman.

The loan will be provided to Mahatat Al Zarqa Le Tawleed Al Takah Al Kahrabaieyah, a limited liability company incorporated in Jordan and majority-owned by ACWA Power International, a major international energy company, the bank said in a statement to the press.

The new Zarqa combined-cycle gas turbine plant replaces the obsolete Hussein thermal power station and will be twice as efficient. The new plant involves a fuel switch from oil to natural gas that will result in significant greenhouse gas emission savings in the country.

Additional energy-efficient replacement power is essential to the stability of the Jordanian electricity network to address a rapidly growing demand on the back of the influx of refugees from neighboring Syria and as older, less efficient plants are being decommissioned.

The investment will also play an important role in Jordan's transition to a low-carbon economy, because the new plant will also increase the required base load power in the country. This in turn will facilitate the successful integration of more renewable sources of energy in the system.

The EBRD has been a strong supporter of sustainable development within Jordan's energy sector since 2012, including financing six solar power plants (total of 164 MW), one wind power plant (82 MW) and one 240 MW thermal power plant.

Jordan became an EBRD shareholder in 2012 and to date the Bank has committed 833 million U.S. dollars across 33 projects in various sectors of the economy. Endit