Costa Rica, Japan sign USD 240m financing deal for geothermal plant

Costa Rica and Japan signed on Tuesday a JPY-26-billion (USD-240-million (EUR 215.4m) loan agreement in support of the construction of a 55-MW geothermal power plant in the Central American country.

The Borinquen I Geothermal Plant, as it is named, will be located in Liberia, Guanacaste province. The financing is part of a sectoral loan with a 40-year term granted in 2013 for the development of geothermal projects in Costa Rica and ratified by the country's Legislative Assembly in 2014, the Costa Rican government said.

Borinquen I is expected to start commercial operation in 2023. In addition to the Japanese investment, the plant will also be financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and with own resource of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE).

Costa Rica is expanding its geothermal power capacity through other projects too, and in 2019 it is to connect to the grid the 55-MW Las Pailas II geothermal plant, the government noted.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.898)

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