ENERGO: Turkey's Gama Enerji agrees restructuring deal for $595mn loan

Turkey's Gama Enerji has agreed a restructuring deal for a $595mn loan that it obtained to establish a combined cycle power plant, the company said in an August 27 statement. The plant provides half of Ankara’s electricity.

In explaining the restructuring, CEO Tamer Calisir said it was made necessary due to volatility in domestic and foreign energy and financial markets.

The restructured debt will have a maturity of seven and 12 years, with part of it to be paid in Turkish lira, Calisir added.

Reuters first reported the restructuring deal last month.

Turkish lenders Is Bank, Yapi Kredi, Garanti, TSKB and Denizbank were among those involved in the deal, while KPMG acted as the finance and restructuring adviser.

Turkey's Gama Holding owns 50% of Gama Enerji, while Malaysian electricity infrastructure firm Tenega owns 30%, the World Bank Group’s IFC owns 14.5% and IFC Global Infrastructure Fund Holding owns 5%.

Gama began the investment process in 2013 to set up the 853-MW and $900mn Ic Anadolu combined cycle gas turbine plant. It subsequently started electricity production in 2016.

Power companies in Turkey began encountering difficulties in paying back loans after 2018, when the lira lost around 30% of its value against the dollar. That raised the cost of electricity production.

Other difficulties faced by the producers have been a fall in demand for electricity and the coming online of many renewable energy plants.