US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has approved political risk insurance to cover US$212M in financing for a project to upgrade five hydro power plants in Colombia, enabling a significant increase in the South American country’s electricity generation.
The US$212 OPIC insured sum, together with another US$38M loan both arranged and underwritten by Citigroup, will be provided to ISAGEN, a major Colombia power company whose majority shareholder is the Colombian government.
The loan will be used largely to help ISAGEN modernise and maintain its San Carlos, Jaguas and Termocentro hydro facilities, rehabilitate the Calderas power plant (shutdown since 1998 due to damage caused by political violence) and begin the construction of the Amoya run of river facility.