Announcement of Turkey to Complete Elbistan Thermal Power Station on February 6, 1986

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE o ow rUIe World Bank £ 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. 4Telephone:122476-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 86/50 Contact: Fawzi H. Rihane February 6, 1986 (202) 477-5325 TURKEY TO COMPLETE ELBISTAN THERMAL POWER STATION The World Bank is providing a loan of $10 million to help finance the completion of the Elbistan Thermal Power Station in central Turkey. The project, which will cost nearly $248 million, will help complete the third and fourth power units at the station. The objective of the project is to assist the Turkish Electricity Authority (TEK) manage this large and complex power station. TEK is the borrower of the World Bank loan. The Elbistan project is designed to supply electric power using relatively low grade lignite from the Kislakoy mine in Afsin-Elbistan. It is part of a balanced program of power development using Turkey's domestic fuel and hydropower resources. In 1974 the World Bank supported the original project with a loan of $148 million, about 24 percent of the foreign financing. Completion of the project is now expected by the end of 1987. The Government of Turkey is providing $127.6 million and TEK, $35 million, towards the cost of the project. The European Investment Bank, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (Germany) are providing the remainder of the financing. The World Bank loan is for 17 years, including four years of grace, with a variable interest rate, currently 8.5 percent, linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75 percent on undisbursed balances. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.