By: Vijay Kumar Verma, Editor-ICN Group
SHIMLA: SJVN has signed a MoU with State Bank of India led consortium of banks for a term loan of INR 4913 crores (NPR 7860 Crores) for its upcoming 900 MW Arun 3 Hydro Electric Project in Nepal. The MoU was signed on Sunday at Kathmandu, Nepal in the presence of former Prime Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Finance Minister of Nepal Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Chairman & Managing Director, SJVN, Nand Lal Sharma and Deputy Managing Director of the State Bank of India, P.N. Prasad. Satish Sharma CEO SJVN Arun 3 Power Development Company (SAPDC) signed the agreement on behalf of SJVN. During the signing ceremony Nand Lal Sharma told that for funding the debt part of INR 7018 crores (NPR 11,229 crores) project, SJVN had entered into the MoU.
Other constituents of the consortium are Everest Bank Limited and NABIL Bank Limited. While the consortium will provide a total term loan of INR 4913 crores (NPR 7860 Crores) State Bank of India will provide INR 4100 crores (NPR 6560 Crores).
SJVN is executing the 900 MW Arun 3 Hydro Electric Project, through its wholly owned subsidiary SJVN Arun 3 Power Development Company (SAPDC) in Nepal. The project had been awarded to SJVN Limited on build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis for a period of 30 years. The total project cost is likely to be INR 7018 crores (NPR 11,229 crores), which includes both generation and transmission part.
Nand Lal Sharma, informed that the Project shall be financed on 70: 30 debt equity ratio. Accordingly, SJVN will contribute INR 2105 crores (NPR 3369 crores) as equity while INR 4913 crores (NPR 7860 Crores) will be the debt portion. With the present net worth of more than INR 10,000 crores and cash reserves of around INR 2,900 crores SJVN has sufficient financial backing to provide for the equity part.
On this occasion A.S. Bindra, Director (Finance), Kanwar Singh, Director (Civil), Smt. Geeta Kapoor, Director (Personnel) and other senior officers of SJVN and SAPDC were also present.
