The $419.59m project, which can generate up to 1,470GWh of electricity every year, is scheduled to be completed by 2012.
The loan has a 26-year term, including a grace period of six years, with the interest rate determined in accordance with ADB’s Libor-based lending facility. The loan component is due for completion by June 2012 and the grant component by June 2015.
Ashok Bhargava, principal energy specialist in ADB’s east Asia department, said: “The project will demonstrate the advantages of a technology with the potential for large greenhouse gas emission reductions. Its successful implementation will bolster the confidence of investors, project developers, and policymakers leading to scaled-up IGCC power plants and their expanded deployment.”
China has launched a clean coal power generation program, GreenGen, to reduce pollution as well as lower the GHG emissions, with the Tianjin project being the cornerstone of the first phase, ADB said.
ADB is also providing $1.25m in technical assistance to pave the way for the second and third phases of the program, which will result in a scaled-up IGCC plant fitted with carbon capture and storage technology by 2013.
The remaining costs of the Tianjin project will be funded from equity contributions of $84m, a loan of $195.59m from a group of local banks, and the grant from ADB’s climate change fund.
China Huaneng Group, the managing partner of the GreenGen program, is the executing agency for the project.
