GMR Infra's Singapore arm secures finances for 800-MW project

GMR Infrastructure today said its Singapore-arm, GMR Energy (Singapore) Pte Ltd, has secured finances for its 800 MW power project, being constructed at the Jurong Island in the South-east Asian country.

The power plant, which is GMR Group's first independent power project outside India, is constructed at a cost of over USD 1 billion and is one of the largest investment made by an Indian company in Singapore, the company said in a statement.

"The financing package comprises SGD (Singapore Dollar) 670 million of a term loan facility and a USD 270 million credit and working capital facility with a tenor of 17 years," it added.

The company secured loans for the project from Axis Bank, CIMB Bank Berhad, KfW IPEX-Bank Gmbh, National Australia Bank Limited, Standard Chartered Bank and WestLB AG, the statement further said.

"The financing structures are unprecedented in terms of complexity and tenor and will set a new benchmark for the power sector... This impressive achievement is a good start and augurs well for the project," GMR Infra's Group Chairman G M Rao said.

Moreover, the power plant, which will have Siemens' gas turbines, would be designed and constructed by a consortium of Siemens and Samsung.

The power plant, scheduled for commercial operations in 2013, will be fuelled by re-gasified LNG, the statement said.

GMR Infra, through its various subsidiaries, has 13 power projects under-construction and it aims to add about 1,768 MW new power generation capacity in the current fiscal by commissioning three units at Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.

In 2010-11, the company had posted a net loss of Rs 929.64 crore due to one time loss incurred on sale of its interests in global power entity InterGen N.V.

It had reported a growth of 26% in its net income at Rs 5,773.8 crore in FY'11.

Scrips of the company today closed at Rs 31.65 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, up 0.32% from previous close.