Osaka Gas, one of the biggest gas companies in Japan, is to sign a deal with the ESB which will see it take a 50% slice of the Amorebieta power plant in the Basque region of Northern Spain.
Osaka is investing €75m in the plant, the cost of which is €500m. All but €80m of that is being underwritten by a group of banks, so the ESB has effectively sold the half-share for a paper profit of €35m.
ESB International has been building the plant from scratch as the first foreign operator in the Spanish market and it will come on stream next year.
The 755mw Amorebieta power plant is located at an industrial park near Bilbao in the Basque country of northern Spain. When fully commissioned in the autumn of 2005, the power plant has the capacity to supply 30% of the energy needs of the Basque region.
Construction has been underway since February 2003 and there are currently 700 people working on the site.
Post-construction, ESBI will manage the operation and maintenance of the power plant at Amorebieta for the initial 20 year period.
'The partnership agreement is a recognition of the importance and value of the Amorebieta project,' commented Padraig McManus, ESB's Chief Executive.
'It is an endorsement of the company's international investment strategy. It positions ESB well to continue to compete and make further successful overseas investments in Spain and Europe,' he added.
The Amorebieta power plant is the Japanese company's second major acquisition. It acquired an equity interest in the Tenaska Gateway Project in Texas in the US in June this year.
