The Project sponsors are Ashmore Group Plc (existing IFC client), with a participation of 77.6%, and Ashmore Fund’s LP, Neuberger Berman, with a participation of 22.4% (together the “Capital Sponsors”).  Technical Partners, which will have a participation of 0.05%, are Morelco SAS, DV Ingenieria SAS and Enterprise Management Services SAS. The Technical Partners will be in charge of the construction of the project.                                                  

Total Project cost is estimated at US$ 116.7 million, at current FX COP/USD rate, to be financed through a 75:25 Debt to Equity ratio. The proposed financing entails an A Loan for up to US$20 million, a B/MCPP Loan for up to US$70 million and US$ 29.2 million of Equity to be provided by the capital sponsors.                                                   

 The Project is located in La Guajira, Colombia.                                                  

 This is a Category A project according to IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability due to the diverse environmental and social risks associated with the project construction and operations.

Although the transmission line corridor was selected to minimize interferences with protected areas in coordination with the national and regional authorities, the majority of the project footprint, albeit relatively small, is within Natural Habitat with important biodiversity values that had to be considered during the design and require appropriate mitigation and monitoring. As indicated above, La Guajira is a department with a significant presence of indigenous communities and the transmission line corridor crosses significant portions of land of the Wayuu indigenous group. In addition, the corridor is included within the Línea Negra (or Zona teológica de las comunidades indígenas de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta), the limit of the ancestral lands and areas of interest in natural and cultural resources of the Indigenous Peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. As such the project has required an extensive implementation of the relevant process of prior consultation (consulta previa) as per Colombian requirements. The overall land acquisition process is significant due to the high number of properties affected (total number of affected properties is 255), including both non-ethnic and ethnic private land owners and indigenous collective lands. Other, more limited, E&S risks and issues are those associated with the construction and operations phase of any transmission line project. Construction phase labor influx is expected to be limited due to relatively limited workforce required, availability and local sourcing of a skilled workforce, and labor policies of the project.