In May 2011, Crédit Agricole CIB acted as sole lender for a USD 178 million credit in favour of Dakdrinh Hydropower Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of PetroVietnam Power Corporation. This loan is due to finance the Dakdrinh hydropower project in the central province of Quang Ngai, Vietnam.

The loan was made under the guarantee of the Vietnamese Finance Ministry and the Japanese Investment and Export Insurance Company (NEXI).

This 13-year financing will cover up to 80% of the project investment, estimated at over USD 237 million. The 125MW hydropower plant built on the natural flow of Dakdrinh River is due to produce more than 540 kWh million of electricity annually. It will provide the power necessary to ensure the development of Central Vietnam.

It is also worth noting that Crédit Agricole CIB have assisted NEXI in conducting a comprehensive environmental and social due diligence on this project, based on its “Category A” criteria in compliance with OECD/World Bank principle standards, and it has been confirmed that the environmental and social impacts are limited. The environmental and social monitoring will be conducted by NEXI throughout the loan life in coordination also with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) and the local Authorities.

“Crédit Agricole CIB is proud to participate in major development projects in Vietnam, like the Dakdrinh hydropower plant. Our commitment in the country implies other significant financings like a gas pipeline to connect the PM3 block to the southernmost province of Ca Mau and the Dung Quat polypropylene factory for instance,” comments Guy Nguyen-Nhon, Senior Country Officer of Crédit Agricole CIB in Vietnam.

“This transaction supports a project that will significantly contribute to providing electricity in a region that has seen considerable economic growth and is the focus of many Japanese corporations’ overseas expansion. We are proud to be working with our long-standing partner NEXI on this transaction, which confirms our leadership in arranging financing in these strategic fields of energy and infrastructure projects,” comments Marc-Andre Poirier, Senior Country Officer of Crédit Agricole CIB in Japan.