MIGA Insures Ghana Seawater Desalination Plant

MIGA Insures Ghana Seawater Desalination Plant

Project will provide clean, safe water to 500,000 residents in Accra

Washington,  November 7, 2012 - The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the political risk insurance arm of the World Bank Group, announced today it is supporting an investment that will supply 60,000 cubic meters of potable water per day to residents and businesses in the Teshie–Nungua area of Accra. The plant will be built on a 25-year build-own-operate-transfer basis and is expected to benefit approximately 500,000 people in one of the city’s poorest areas.

“Increased water supply is urgently needed in the project area and many residents lack access to safe drinking water,” says Izumi Kobayashi, MIGA’s Executive Vice President.  “We’re very pleased to be supporting this investment that will supply water to Accra’s residents and provide technical know-how in seawater treatment to build capacity in the country.”

MIGA’s investment guarantees of $179.2 million are covering an equity investment and shareholder loan by Abengoa Group; an equity investment and shareholder loan by Daye Water Investment (Ghana), BV of the Netherlands; and a non-shareholder loan and interest-rate swap by Standard Bank of South Africa, Ltd. The coverage is against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, breach of contract, and war and civil disturbance.

The project is expected to help bring Ghana a step closer toward its Millennium Development Goal target for water. The country is only one of four in sub-Saharan Africa on track to meet the goal, but significant investment is required over the next 10 years to help Ghana meet the rising demand for water.

“We’re pleased to be investing in a project that will increase the water supply and help reduce the prevalence of water and sanitation-related diseases, including cholera, that are currently affecting the area,” says Mr. Takatsune Hirayama of Daye Water Investment (Ghana), BV., a subsidiary of the Japanese Trading House - Sojitz Corporation “It will also eliminate the need to purchase water from water trucks, which is expensive and, moreover, the quality cannot be assured.”

______________
MULTILATERAL INVESTMENT GUARANTEE AGENCY
A Member of the World Bank Group
1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433

MIGA Contact:
Mallory Saleson, MIGA
Tel: +1 202 473-0844
E-mail: msaleson@worldbank.org

Rebecca Post, MIGA
Tel: +1 202-473-1964
E-mail: rpost@worldbank.org

Cara Santos Pianesi
Tel: +1.202.458.2097
E-mail: csantospianesi@worldbank.org