Engie wins TAG auction with debt financing
French company Engie has won the auction for state-run oil company Petrobras’ gas pipeline operator TAG, which accounts for 47% of Brazil’s entire gas infrastructure.
SPV lands CCGT and LNG financing
Special purpose vehicle UTE GNA I Geração de Energia has closed a roughly US$763m non-recourse financing backing a 1,298MW gas-fired combined-cycle power project for the Açu Port in São João da Barra, in the northern part of Rio de Janeiro state.
Details emerge on 4G mini-perm
Sacyr-led concessionaire Vial Union del Sur is nearing close on the debt package backing the Pasto–Rumichaca 4G roadway public-private partnership in the country’s south.
Genneia taps Nordex
Argentine IPP Genneia has tapped Germany’s Nordex to supply 38 N149 4.0-4.5 wind turbines for its 166MW Chubut Norte cluster of wind farms.
Sigma and Mitsui pen mine agreement
Sigma Lithium Resources Corporation has inked heads of agreement with Mitsui & Co that will give the company “a significant portion of the funding required for the capital expenditures and construction of Sigms’s commercial production plant at its Grota do Cirilo lithium project”, Sigma said in a statement.
Morales approves infra trust
Bolivian President Evo Morales has approved a US$318m trust that will go to departmental, regional, and municipal governments to help them pay for infrastructure works.
S&P raises PPP financing concerns
Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has shown concern about the newly created public-private partnership programme in Argentina, saying “projects will not try to access capital markets in 2019”.
Pension reforms to push infra investment
Latin America’s largest bank Banco do Brasil’s chief executive officer Rubem Novaes expects infrastructure investors to increase allocations to Brazil if approvals reforming the pension sector in the country go through.
RenovAr Ronda 4 due in 2019
The RenovAr Ronda 4 auction for large-scale renewables projects will be held in 2019, according to Minister of Energy and Renewable Energy Sebastian Kind.
Minnova updates on La Esperanza
Minnova Corp expects to complete the permitting process for its gold mining La Esperanza project by May this year, the company said in a statement, having been held up on the back of heavy seasonal rainfall.
EPMAPS lands water financing
Water utility Empresa Pública Metropolitana de Agua Potable y Saneamiento (EPMAPS) has landed a US$221m financing backing upgrades to the potable water and waste-water systems in Quito.
Enami and Codelco form project JV
Ecuadorean state mining company Empresa Nacional Minera (Enami) and Chilean state mining group Corporación Nacional de Cobre (Codelco) have created a joint venture known as Sociedad Anónima for the development of the Llurimagua copper and molybdenum project. Enami will hold 51%, with Codelco holding 49%.
Chinese back lithium project
Chinese company Ganfeng Lithium will invest US$160m to boost its stake in its Argentina lithium project company Minera Exar alongside Lithium Americas Corporation to 50% from 37.5%.
Nuclear deal progresses
Argentina and China are nearing “new financial structures” backing the development of the massive Atucha III nuclear power project, according to Julian Gadano, undersecretary for nuclear energy for Argentina.
Massive water highway PPP planned
Corporacion Reguemos Chile will submit a plan for a US$25bn carretera hidrica, or water highway, public-private partnership that would ship water from the Bio Bio region to the dry yet water use-intensive Atacama Desert.
Rumo wins rail auction
Brazilian logistics company Rumo has won the auction for the much-hyped Ferrovia Norte-Sul rail project with a bid of R$2.719bn (US$694m).
SNC-Lavalin mulls Codelco legal action
Embattled Canadian company SNC-Lavalin is considering initiating a lawsuit against Chilean state-owned copper giant Codelco, which recently terminated a contract with the construction company.
Sarco comes online
Aela Energia’s 170MW Sarco wind farm in Atacama has come online.
Rio to add BNB to lender roster
Denham Capital-backed Rio Energy is set to tap BNDES and Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB) for financing backing the expansion of its wind portfolio in Brazil.
QB2 stake sale closes
Teck has closed the sale of a 30% indirect interest in the Compañia Minera Teck Quebrada Blanca SA (QBSA) project company to Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) and Sumitomo Corporation (SC).
Renova accepts revamped AES Tiete offer
Renova Energia has announced that its board has accepted an offer from AES Tietê Energia to buy the operational 433MW Alto Sertao III wind project. Renova rejected a January offer for the assets. It has been looking to sell the projects since July last year after a deal with Brookfield fell through in May.
