Besix, a leading Belgian infrastructure group with a major presence in the Middle East, has announced the financial close of the mega Dubai Waste-to-Energy project, which us being developed in partnership with a global equity investor consortium at a total investment of $1.2 billion.
Besides Besix, the equity investor consortium comprises leading private and public operators from the Middle East, Asia and Europe including Dubai Holding, Dubal Holding, Itochu, HZI and Tech Group.
The plant, one of the largest in the world, was procured by Dubai Municipality.
This deal confirms Besix's role as a long-term industrial partner of GCC countries for the implementation of their strategic infrastructure and national strategies, thus adding to its rapidly growing portfolio of public-private partnerships in the Middle East, said a top official.
"Besix helps states to convert their visions and opportunities into concrete industrial partnerships. Dubai Waste-to-Energy is an example of which we are very proud: together with Dubai Municipality, Hitachi Zosen Inova and our valuable co-investors, we have conceived and engineered one of the most ambitious environmental projects in the Middle East and made it a reality," remarked Olivier Crasson, General Manager of Besix in the Middle East.
"We designed it, today we are building it, and tomorrow we will operate and maintain it for 35 years, stated Crasson.
"The financial close, for which on behalf of Besix, I would like to thank all the partners, is a proof of the quality of this project and of our ability to accompany the public authorities as a long-term, reliable and solution-oriented partner," he added.
The debt provider group comprises Japanese export credit agency Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) alongside international lenders Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, KFW Ipex-Bank, Mizuho Bank, Siemens Bank, Société Générale, Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Japanese export credit agency Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) provided loan insurance.-TradeArabia News Service