Project Sponsor: The Project is sponsored by the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (“TAQA”). Founded in 2005, TAQA is 51.1% owned by Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) and 21% owned by the Farmer’s Fund (a Government of Abu Dhabi owned fund). Collectively, ADWEA, the Farmer’s Fund and other Government of Abu Dhabi entities own 72.6% of TAQA. TAQA is listed on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange, with 27.4% of its shares being publicly held. TAQA is gradually emerging as a global energy player with operations in Africa (Morocco and Ghana), Asia (India and UAE), and Europe (UK and The Netherlands) and has had operations in North America (Canada and United States).

The Company: TICO is 90% indirectly owned by TAQA and 10% by VRA.

The total project cost is estimated to be $440 million. The proposed IFC investment consists of a secured senior loan of up to $120 million, composed of up to $105 million A Loan for IFC’s own account and up to $15 million in concessional funding from the Canada Climate Change Program.
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105.0 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	105.0
Equity

* These investment figures are indicative

The Project is located in Aboadze, Takoradi, in the Western Region of Ghana, about 220 km southwest of the nation’s capital, Accra. Takoradi is home to a major port, Takoradi Port, and is connected to the 678 km West Africa Gas Pipeline, which will supply gas from Nigeria. Takoradi is located about 140 km east of Bonyere, from where a gas pipeline is planned to transport gas from Ghana’s recent off-shore discoveries.

The Project will be developed on a brown-field site which currently houses the T1 and T2 plants. T2 is located adjacent to, and west of, T1. The site is easily accessible through existing roads.

The Project is expected to have a number of major benefits, including:
(a) Increased supply of electricity to support Ghana’s growing economy at a more efficient cost – the Project involves the increase of the existing plant capacity from 220MW to 330MW, with no additional fuel requirements (since a combined cycle operation utilizes waste heat from the simple cycle generation)- with the ultimate benefit of a lower cost of energy for the consumers.
(b )Further diversification of Ghana electricity supply away from over-reliance on hydro power generation (with the attendant rainfall driven variations in supply), as well as utilization of gas resources from Ghana and the region, with the planned conversion of the plant to dual fuel mode – gas and LCO.
(c) Supports the growth of private sector investment in Ghana’s power sector, with positive signals for future investments.
(d) Positive climate impact through avoided C02 emissions, by increasing the plant’s energy output capacity with no incremental fuel requirements. 

IFC and other participating Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are expected to offer long term debt financing that would otherwise not be available to the Project in Ghana. As with other infrastructure projects, long tenor financing is critical to the long term sustainability of the Project, and helps achieve lower pricing for the generated power. IFC is expected to contribute to the commercial success of the Project through input into the contractual structure, and in standard setting through the IFC Performance Standards on Environmental and Social issues. 

This is a Category B project as the potential environmental and social (“E&S”) impacts and risks are limited in magnitude, site specific and can be mitigated with existing pollution prevention and control technologies and standard environmental management practices. The project involves conversion of the current operations from single cycle mode to combined cycle mode. In combined cycle mode, the exhaust gases generated in single cycle mode are used to make steam which drives a steam turbine to generate additional electricity. In this manner, the plant’s power generation efficiency is increased by approximately a third, with no increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

TICO commissioned a recognized consulting company with experience in the power sector to undertake the requisite E&S assessments for the project. This included an assessment for conversion of the facility from single to combined cycle, and a separate assessment for the cooling water system. These assessments were completed in consultation with the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency and are generally compliant with IFC’s requirements. They also included stakeholder engagement with the surrounding communities with whom TICO has good working relationships and formalized communication structures. In addition, TICO / VRA have a community impact agreement with the project affected communities which facilitates the provision of certain social amenities.

Key potential issues include air quality and noise and the predicted change to the current situation is not considered significant. In addition, the cooling system has been designed to comply with IFC EHS Guidelines for Thermal Power Plants and upon operation, marine monitoring programs will be implemented to confirm environmental impacts are in accordance with those predicted.

The company is currently in the process of implementing recognized, certifiable quality, environmental and occupational health and safety (“OHS”) systems with time schedule for this defined in the project Environmental and Social Action Plan (“ESAP”). In addition, TICO has robust policies and procedures for the management of labor which are compliant with IFC’s requirements. This similarly applies to occupational health and safety (“OHS”) with the company operating for over 8 years without a lost-time accident. A Construction Environmental and Social Management and Monitoring Plan (“CESMMP”) will be compiled for the on and offshore works to ensure effective management of E&S issues, including OHS, during this phase. In addition, TICO has sufficient internal capacity and experience to ensure adequate implementation of the CESSMP. Whist the company is currently in general compliance with IFC’s Performance Standards, E&S performance will be further enhanced via implementation of the project ESAP.