Summit Power International to Invest USD $1 Billion in Collaboration with GE and Excelerate Energy in Power Generation and LNG Supply
August 4, 2017
SINGAPORE – Summit Power International Pte. Ltd. (“Summit” or the “Group”), the Singapore incorporated power producer, today announced collaborations to develop USD$1 Billion of gas-to-power generation and an offshore liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) import terminal. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has been engaged as the lead arranger for financing to develop the Meghnaghat II natural gas based combined cycle power plant. Upon completion, Summit will have a total installed generating capacity of over 3,000MW. The expansion in its core market coincides with Summit’s strategy to expand across emerging markets in the South-East Asia. To enable clean, sustainable power, Summit will be chartering a floating storage and regasification unit (“FSRU”) from Excelerate Energy for LNG storage and regasification services.
GE, through GE Capital’s Energy Financial Services, and Summit have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for GE to potentially provide USD$50 Million of equity to Summit, to be used for the development of power projects in Bangladesh. In addition, GE Gas Power Systems will have rights to supply equipment for the power projects based on gas turbine technology and developed in the next 36 months by Summit.
To make gas available for these projects, Summit LNG Terminal Company (“SLTC”) will sign the FSRU Time Charter Party agreement for 15 years with Excelerate Energy L.P. (“Excelerate”), the floating LNG specialist. The agreement is for the provision of one of Excelerate’s existing FSRUs.
The arrangements will be formalised at a signing ceremony to be held later today at The Fullerton Hotel, Singapore in the presence of Mr. Kazi M. Aminul Islam, Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, Mr. Abul Kalam Azad, Chief Coordinator, Sustainable Development Goals of the Government of Bangladesh, Mr. Fazle Kabir, Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Mrs Lim Hwee Hwa, former Minister, Prime Minister’s Office Singapore, Mr. Satvinder Singh, Assistant CEO of International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, and Mr. Muhammed Aziz Khan, Chairman of Summit Group.
The MoU with Summit and GE will be signed by Mr. Faisal Khan, Additional Managing Director of Summit Corporation and Mr. Banmali Agrawala, President & CEO, GE South Asia.
Mr. Tariqur Rashid, Managing Director of SLTC and Mr. Karlman Tham, General Manager of Asia of Excelerate, will sign on behalf of Summit and Excelerate respectively.
Mr. Aziz Khan, Chairman of Summit Power International said: “We are delighted to announce these significant projects valued at over US$1 billion over the next three years. The addition of these power projects is in line with our objective to grow our sustainable power capacity to empower nations and transform lives. This development is a testament to our deep long-standing relationship with GE and IFC which began some 20 years ago. The Summit brand has grown from strength to strength over the past decade and today, our name is synonymous with “infrastructure for development”. We are excited to begin working with Excelerate for the first time. As the partner of choice for global players in the region, we endeavor to become the leading provider of energy solutions in Asia and deliver sustainable long-term value to all our stakeholders.”
Mr. Banmali Agrawala, President & CEO, GE South Asia said, “The MoU is a step towards furthering GE’s strategic partnership with the Summit Group in the region. We will continue to evaluate collaborations that provide comprehensive energy solutions to Bangladesh, including in the form of technology, services, and financing.”
IFC Head of New Business Infrastructure and Natural Resources, Asia Pacific, Mr. Lubomir Varbanov added, “We value our engagement with Summit, and have been actively supporting the group’s mission to bring sustainable long-term power solutions to Bangladesh. Our strategic relationship with Summit goes all the way back to 1997 when IFC financed Khulna, followed by Bibiyana in 2015, and more recently, in 2016, through financing from IFC’s own account and mobilizing from IFC’s Emerging Asia Fund and EMA Power. IFC remains committed to paving the way for the country to achieve energy security, and we look forward to supporting Summit to help meet this objective in the region.”
Mr. Karlman Tham, General Manager of Excelerate, said: “We are pleased to be partnering with Summit on this very important project. We are confident our experience and expertise in FSRUs will ensure an efficient and reliable project for Bangladesh for the years to come.”