EFG-Hermes (HRHO.CA), leading investment bank in the Arab world, announced today that InfraMed has made a US$ 40 million investment in Jordan's first utility-scale wind farm. InfraMed is the largest investment vehicle dedicated to infrastructure investments in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region and is advised by EFG Hermes. EFG-Hermes is also one of five global and regional founding sponsors that together contributed EUR 385 million to establish the fund, alongside Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the European Investment Bank, and Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion. The transaction gives InfraMed a 50% stake in the Jordan Wind Project Company (JWPC), which is building the 117 MW Tafila Wind Farm. The USD 290 million Tafila project will increase Jordan's total power generation capacity by 3%, producing 400 GWh of electricity annually. The pro-environment project will also displace 235,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. "Renewable and alternative energy projects are not just key features of a greener MENA region, but a critical part of the Arab world's future energy security," said Karim Moussa, Co-Head of Private Equity at EFG Hermes and Member of InfraMed's Investment Committee. "This investment in the region's first utility-scale wind farm underlines the commitment of InfraMed and EFG Hermes to renewable energy as we look to help nations meet rising demand for power while curbing their carbon footprints." InfraMed is the largest investment vehicle dedicated to infrastructure investments in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region and is advised by EFG Hermes. EFG Hermes is also one of five global and regional founding sponsors that together contributed EUR 385 million to establish the fund, alongside Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the European Investment Bank, and Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion. "The Tafila project is responding to Jordan's pressing energy needs while adapting to the country's unique fossil fuel resource situation, water scarcity and abundance of wind. InfraMed and other leading international players' involvement demonstrates the project's economic viability and sets a benchmark for the future implementation of projects under the country's clean energy law," noted InfraMed CEO Frederic Ottavy. The high-profile transaction follows InfraMed's March 2012 acquisition of a 20% stake in a 36-year concession to operate Iskenderun Port on Turkey's Eastern Mediterranean shore and a USD 100 million commitment made in June 2012 to the Egyptian Refining Company, which is building a US$ 3.7 billion greenfield petroleum refinery that will reduce by more than half Egypt's present-day diesel imports while curbing the country's sulphur dioxide emissions by nearly one third. JWPC is a co-development between InfraMed; Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company (31% stake); and EP Global Energy, a development company specializing in renewable energy projects owned Cyrus' Paraskevaides Group of Companies (19%).
