Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised the Turkish lead arrangers — Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi A.Ş., Türkiye İş Bankasi A.Ş., Vakiflar Bankasi T.A.O. and Türkiye Garanti Bankasi A.Ş. — in connection with a term loan facility of US$700 million and a letter of guarantee facility of US$80 million to project finance the development and operation of a gas fired combined cycle power (CCGT) plant of 865 MW within the Kocaeli-Gebze VI IMES OIZ industrial zone in Gebze, Republic of Turkey.

The loan facilities were granted to Yeni Elektrik Üretim A.Ş., a project company owned by Unit Investment N.V. (60%) and Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. (40%). Total project costs are estimated to be US$1 billion.

“The Firm has been active in Turkey for the past 20 years,” said Jason Kerr, partner, White & Case. “We are delighted to have been involved in yet another landmark transaction within the country – Turkey’s first true limited-recourse project financing of a CCGT plant in the evolving merchant power market.”

Dr. Zeynep Cakmak from White & Case’s affiliate office in Ankara commented “This project demonstrates the commitment of the Turkish bank market to project finance the development of greenfield energy projects which is crucial for the liberalization of the Turkish energy market.”

The signing of the principal finance documentation took place on Friday, 10 June, and the financial close took place on Tuesday 12 July.

The White & Case team was led by partner Jason Kerr (London) who worked closely with partners Dr. Zeynep Çakmak (Ankara), Güniz Gökçe (Istanbul) and Kirsti Massie (London). Associates Carina Radford (London), Paul Simpson (London), Christopher Wong (London), Emily Pender (London), Sam Whitman (London), Özlem Kizil (Ankara), Mustafa Durakoğlu (Ankara), Nil Akman (Istanbul) and Gizem Kurşun (Istanbul) also assisted on the matter.

The project company, Yeni Elektrik Üretim A.Ş, was advised by partners Nicholas Wong and Tony Guistini and Adrien Bélanger of Clifford Chance (Paris).