Chilean energy company AES Gener SA announced last week that it got $1.2 billion loan for the Alto Maipo power project.

AES Gener has a 60 % stake in the US$2.05 billion project, located east of Santiago, while partner Antofagasta Minerals, the mining arm of Chilean group Luksic, holds the remaining 40 %.

The company said in a press release the 20-year loan was granted by a syndicate of banks including the Overseas Private Investment Corp, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Chilean banks CorpBanca, Banco del Estado de Chile, Banco de Credito e Inversiones and Banco Itau Chile, and KfW Ipex-Bank GmbH and DNB Bank ASA.

Luis Felipe Ceron, AES Gener Chief Executive Officer, said:

The signing of this financing agreement constitutes a major milestone for the project's development, as it will allow for the startup of its main works.

The power stations will be located in the upper section of the Maipo River, about 50 kilometers southeast of Santiago, Chile, with a total installed capacity of 531 megawatts once its two generating units are complete. Alto Maipo has already obtained all the environmental permits needed for the construction and operation of the project, after being challenged by local environmental groups earlier this year.