HNB part-finances Broadlands power project

Hatton National Bank (HNB) signed an agreement with the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to part-finance the Broadlands Hydro-Power Project, which will add 35 megawatts (MW) to the national grid.

HNB and CEB officials exchange the agreement

Eighty-five-percent of the project will be financed with a loan from the Government of China, while the balance 15 percent as a loan from HNB. The CEB signed loan agreements with ICBC Bank, China and HNB in this regard in Colombo recently.

"One key area of HNB's expertise is funding the country's infrastructure development projects by providing commercial loans under strategic tie-ups, said Deputy General Manager, Corporate and Wholesale Banking, Ms. Ruvini Thenabadu.

"In the power projects segment, our key area of concentration is renewable energy and since much has been done on the hydro-power front, we are venturing more into wind power and waste to energy projects," she said.

"Hydro-power projects, whether big or small developed by small timers and large corporates, have been of immense interest to HNB because it is an area the Bank has been concentrating on for a long time," Thenabadu said.

"We are also exploring the possibility of funding projects such as waste to energy, bio mass and solar power projects. HNB has already funded wind projects along the Norochcholai-Puttalam belt and hydro power projects, and there are several such projects under consideration for funding, and we are exploring all aspects before venturing out to finance them".