A HIGH-PROFILE bid by a Price Waterhouse-led consortium to create a project financing blueprint for a Shanghai power plant has been set aside as China expands its options for attracting overseas funds to its power sector.
It appears likely China will finance the enormous 1,800 megaWatt Waigaoqiao II plant with low-interest loans from government-level multilateral agencies, according to Nigel Ayton, director of electricity services for Price Waterhouse in China.
Mr Ayton said at least two multilateral agencies were negotiating with the government to provide preferential loans, which would be a cheaper source of financing for the US$1.5 billion project than a build-operate-transfer (BOT) agreement.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank and the European Investment Bank are all examples of multilateral agencies, but Mr Ayton would not reveal which agencies were involved.
China's State Planning Commission is drafting a law to set out a framework for BOT projects, which Mr Ayton expects to appear in the first half this year.
That law is almost certain to say that future BOT projects must be wholly foreign owned, not joint ventures.
