CC advises Safi IPP in Morocco

A legal team consisting of lawyers from six offices of Clifford Chance have advised sponsors GDF Suez, Nareva and Mitsui on an 18-year financing of a USD2.6 billion, 1,386 MW (gross) ultra-supercritical coal-fired independent power project (IPP) near the port of Safi, Morocco. The deal manifested over three days of meetings and ended in a ceremony in Rabat which was graced by the prime minister of Morocco, Abdelilah Benkirane.

Islamic Development Bank provided part of the financing for the power project via a structured Islamic tranche. It was the first of its kind multi tranche cross border Islamic project financing into Morocco. The traditional procurement/forward lease structure was not used because of the PPP nature of the project. For this reason an innovative structure, which combined an istisna' arrangement with a wakala arrangement, was developed and implemented. The Clifford Chance legal team was led by Qudeer Latif (partner, global head of Islamic Finance) with assistance from Shauaib Mirza (senior associate, Dubai).

Clifford Chance also recently advised on the Republic of South Africa's inaugural USD500 million sukuk issuance and the Republic of Senegal inaugural CFA100 billion (approximately USD200 million) sukuk issuance, the first major sukuk issuance by a sovereign in Africa. Qudeer Latif, Global Head of Islamic Finance at Clifford Chance remarked, "Clifford Chance is delighted to help create a new and innovative structure in Islamic project financing and thereby supporting a vital power project for the Moroccan state. This deal, and others we have worked on recently, demonstrates that Islamic finance is not only accessible in Africa but increasingly a popular method of sourcing funds.”