Woori Bank has expanded its footprint in North American infrastructure finance by completing a won-trillion refinancing arrangement for a U.S. combined-cycle gas power plant project.
The bank said May 3 it successfully completed a $825 million refinancing package (about 1.1 trillion won) timed to the start of commercial operations at a 950-megawatt combined-cycle gas power plant in Trumbull County, Ohio.
The project is jointly funded by Korea Southern Power Co., the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corp. (KIND) and Siemens Energy. After the plant began full operations on April 15, Woori led the refinancing to convert construction-stage loans into long-term facilities financing suited to the operating phase.
Woori first provided financial support to the project in 2022, when it secured arranger rights by raising $150 million from South Korean financial institutions. In the latest refinancing, it and KB Kookmin Bank underwrote a total of $230 million in long-term facilities loans and a revolving credit line to be used for working capital, the bank said.
Lee Hae-yeon, deputy head of Woori Bank’s infrastructure finance department, said the deal “strengthened our position in the North American energy market” by supplying funding on time for the start of commercial operations. He said the bank will continue to identify high-quality global assets and support South Korean companies expanding overseas as a financial partner.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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