Press Release

Friday, March 30, 2007

OPIC Provides $70 Million in Financing for Electricity Project in Jordan

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) will provide $70 million in financing for construction of an electrical power plant in Jordan that is expected to generate cost-effective electricity for the country and transfer new technology and management techniques to its energy sector.

AES Jordan, a joint venture between AES Oasis and Mitsui & Co. of Japan,will use the OPIC investment guaranty to construct and operate a 370-megawatt gas-fired combined cycle power plant in a rural area approximately 15 miles outside of Amman; AES Oasis is an affiliate of AES Corporation, a Virginia-based global power company. The resulting electricity will be purchased by the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) of Jordan.

The project is the first independent power provider project to be implemented under the new Private Sector Power Generation Policy of Jordan, designed to establish an environment for the sustainable development of the country’s power industry and improve the quality and efficiency of electric services in the country.

Once completed, the plant will increase Jordan’s power generation capacity by approximately 20 percent and is expected to reduce the average cost of generation by approximately 10 percent; specifically, it will have an electricity tariff that is 15 percent lower than the current annual average for NEPCO and 40 percent lower than for electricity imported from Egypt and Syria.

During the plant’s construction, more than 1800 jobs will be created, 1580 of them for unskilled laborers who would otherwise likely be unemployed. By adopting AES’s computerized maintenance management systems and equipment tracking software and analysis capabilities, the project will also introduce new management techniques to the Jordanian power sector. In addition AES, through the project company, will support the local community by investing in for example local healthcare and education.

“This project will provide many developmental benefits for Jordan, most importantly the provision of electricity – largely for poor, rural areas of the country – that is less expensive and more reliable than imported electricity. It will also transfer technology, create jobs and support the local community with important social services. Ultimately, it could also have a positive impact on the process of privatization of Jordan’s utilities,” said OPIC President and CEO Robert Mosbacher, Jr. “OPIC is pleased to work with AES Corporation on a project that stands to so significantly support the growth of Jordan’s economy.”

Paul Hanrahan, AES president and CEO, said, “AES is pleased to invest in Jordan and to expand our presence in the Middle East through this project. During the past six years, Jordan has experienced good economic growth and macroeconomic stability, and AES’s new project in the country will help continue to fuel that progress.”