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| This Summary of Project Information is prepared and distributed to the public in advance of the IFC Board of Directors’ consideration of the proposed transaction. Its purpose is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities, and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board decision. |
Summary of Project Information (SPI) |
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| Project number | 11495 |
| Project name | Macae |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Utilities |
| Department | Infrastructure |
| Company name | El Paso Rio Claro Limitada |
| Environmental category | A |
| Date SPI disclosed | April 10, 2002 |
| Projected board date | June 20, 2002 |
| Status | Completed |
| Previous Events | Invested: March 5, 2003
Signed: December 3, 2002
Approved: June 20, 2002 |
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| Project sponsor and major shareholders of project company |
| The project sponsor is El Paso Corporation, a major US energy company with operations worldwide. |
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| Total project cost and proposed IFC investment |
| The total project cost is estimated at $656 million. The proposed IFC investment includes an A loan of up to $75 million for IFC's own account and a syndicated B loan of up to $275 million. |
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| Location of project and description of site |
| The project is located on a 300 ha parcel of land in a rural area of the municipality of Macaé. Gas is supplied by a 9 km pipeline connecting to the existing main gas pipeline between Campos and Rio de Janeiro. Electricity will be transmitted through an existing 345 kV transmission line, operated by Furnas, which crosses the project site. |
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| Description of company and purpose of project |
Brazil has been experiencing an energy crisis resulting from several years of significant under-investment in new generation and transmission capacity and heavy reliance on hydropower. The project is an 870 MW "quasi" merchant natural gas-fired power plant. It is being developed under the Priority Thermal Power Program launched in 2000 by the government of Brazil. As such, the Macaé plant will help to underpin the government’s objective to more optimally balance Brazil’s sources of energy supply by increasing thermal generation capacity, thereby reducing the country's reliance on hydropower. The project will provide reliable and flexible thermal power to the Southeast region of Brazil, one of the areas heavily impacted by the recent energy crisis. Due to the flexibility of the plant's technology and fuel supply arrangements, the Macaé plant is one of the few thermal power plants in Brazil which is able to flexibly respond to the country's power needs. The plant is located in a strategic location on the Brazilian electricity grid and, as such, will help to optimally regulate the operation of the electricity grid in the region.
By supporting the development of the project, IFC will be providing strong support to the Brazilian power sector as the country seeks to emerge from the recent energy crisis. IFC's support will help to ensure that the project is able to mobilize the large amount of commercial financing which is required for an investment of this size (B loan of up to $275 million). IFC's involvement will also help to ensure that any environmental/social issues related to the project are addressed in a manner consistent with World Bank Group policies and guidelines. |
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| Environmental and social issues - Category A |
This is a Category A project according to IFC’s Procedure for Environmental and Social Review of Projects, because it may result in significant adverse environmental and/or social impacts that are sensitive, diverse or unprecedented.
To view the environmental documents for this project, click here
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| Location of environmental documents in locally affected community |
- Macae Environmental Secretariat, Rua Dr. Joao Cupertino, 343 Centro (downtown), Macae city, State of Rio de Janeiro;
- Macae Merchant Power Plant (site), Rodovia BR101, Km 164 Fazenda Severina, Barra de Macae, Macae city, State of Rio de Janeiro. |
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| To contact the project company, please write to: |
Antonio Balthazar, Senior Vice President
Finance, El Paso Energy International do Brasil Ltda.
Av. Pasteur #154, 22240-290
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
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