Al Tamimi & Company, the largest law firm in the Middle East, recently acted as legal counsel for lenders in the completion of the Az Zour North Independent Water & Power Project in Kuwait, the country's first Public Private Partnership project.
Acting on behalf of a consortium of international and local lenders, Al Tamimi & Company closed the debt financing of US$ 1.43 Billion. The lenders group included the Japanese governmental agencies, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Nippon Export & Investment Insurance (NEXI), foreign commercial lenders such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank and Kuwait's own National Bank of Kuwait. The debt finance will be used by the Project Company, Shamal Az-zour Al-Oula for the Building, Execution, Operation, Management & Maintenance of the First Phase of Az-Zour Power Plant KSC, to build a combined cycle natural gas-fired power plant with the capacity of approximately 1,500 MW and a seawater desalination plant with a capacity of approximately 105 Million imperial gallons per day at Az-Zour North.
Alex Saleh, Head of Office for Al Tamimi & Company in Kuwait said, "We were delighted to have been entrusted by these major international and local lenders, advising them throughout the course of this landmark PPP Project in Kuwait. It is consistent with the goals and objectives of Al Tamimi, which generally represents most international and local lenders in large projects in Kuwait." The banking and finance practice of Al Tamimi & Company is consistently ranked in the first tier by esteemed publications such as Legal 500.
In addition, another leading partner for Al Tamimi & Company, Philip Kotsis, said, "Working closely with and advising the lenders and other international legal counsel including, Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy over the past years on this project, was a very rewarding experience and we are proud to be a part of this 'flagship' PPP project. We were very pleased to be called upon, and relied on, by local and international lenders to be a part of a project that evidences the forward vision of the State of Kuwait under the direction of the Kuwait Partnership Technical Bureau." Mr. Saleh and Mr. Kotsis jointly led a four man team encompassing Associates, Ramy Shabana and Wassim Sassia.
About Al Tamimi & Company
Al Tamimi & Company was established in 1989 and is the largest regional law firm, with twelve fully-owned offices or through partners in Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and employs approximately 500 staff, 270 lawyers and 44 partners. The Kuwait office offers full legal service in Kuwait through a joint venture with Kuwait lawyer Yaqoub Yousef Al Munayae.
For further information, please visit: www.tamimi.com
© Press Release 2014
