Panama Hydro Secures $155m Loan

Panama’s Bajo Frio hydroelectric project has signed a $155m 15-year term loan to help fund construction. Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) and Norwegian DnB Nor are mandated lead arrangers for the financing, and will lend $47.5m each to the project. French development financer Proparco will provide $35m, and Germany’s DEG, $25m. The interest rate was not disclosed. A person familiar with the deal calls the transaction competitively-priced, noting that it would be unlikely to be able to get the same pricing in today’s market. The Bajo Frio project is owned by Panama’s Fountain Intertrade, a joint venture between Norway’s Agua Imara and Panama’s Credicorp Group via their subsidiaries SN Power ACA Holding and Panamá Hydroelectric Ventures, respectively. It has an expected cost of $224m.