MayCap acted as financial advisor to Water and Power Development Authority (“WAPDA”), Government of Pakistan (“GoP”) for its 2.1GW run-of-the-river Dasu Hydropower project.

The project is to be constructed at an estimated cost of USD 4.3 billion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the Indus River, about 350km from Islamabad. Once completed, the project will help provide up to 40% additional energy to Pakistan.

Dasu will take 6 years to complete and is being financed in a phased manner corresponding to the capex requirements each year. Financing sources comprise USD 1.4 billion local commercial and Islamic financing, ECA-backed buyer credit financing, capital markets bond and a USD 350 million international commercial bank loan facility.

Abhay Ketkar acting as financial advisor, carried out the following activities:

• Closely worked with WAPDA Senior Management (Chairman, Member (Finance), Member (Water), Project Director (Dasu), Nippon Koei (Engineering Consultants) and the World Bank Water Sector and Financing Solutions teams in DC and Islamabad
• Developed financial model for project capex and financing including currency matching and financing cost assumptions
• Structuring and development of financing options including USD and PKR denominated financing tranches from Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), local and international financing institutions, capital market bonds and Islamic financing
• Structuring and shortlisting process for lead arrangers for commercial bank financing and for capital market bond issuances
• World Bank Partial Credit Guarantee (PCG): worked closely together with the World Bank team to develop PCG structuring options including front-loaded/pro-rata and back-ended coverage and relative play between financing volume, tenor and pricing
• Development of Due Diligence package on WAPDA and the Project.

In June 2017, Credit Suisse acted as the Sole Mandated Lead Arranger and original Lender for a very competitively priced US$350m term-loan to WAPDA, supported by World Bank Partial Credit Guarantee (PCG). This was the first time that WAPDA risk was successfully sold to the international banking markets on an uncovered basis (without the need for credit enhancement through GOP or World Bank guarantees).

Abhay Ketkar also supported WAPDA to deliver on PKR 144 billion (estimated USD 1.4 billion in 2017) conventional and Islamic long-term financing from local banks and financing institutions. This was the largest domestic financing of this tenor in the history of Pakistan.

For further information, contact Abhay Ketkar at abhay.ketkar@maycapadvisors.com.

http://www.wapda.gov.pk