Power & Energy · KSA / Pakistan
USD 180MProject Noor
An independent power developer crosses the regulatory chasm
Advised an independent power developer on the regulatory-architecture work for a cross-border project finance package — navigating NEPRA tariff methodology under Pakistan's Generation Policy framework alongside KSA regulatory alignment, with a PPA drafted to survive both reviews.
Challenge
An independent power producer with assets in Pakistan and active tender exposure in KSA needed a project finance package capable of surviving NEPRA tariff determination under the Generation Policy 2015 framework while also meeting KSA regulatory and lender expectations on the offtake side. The PPA drafts on the table did not cleanly map to either regulator. Tariff methodology, sovereign-risk allocation, and indexation mechanics had been written for one jurisdiction and crudely edited for the other — a pattern that reliably clears neither review.
Approach
LMA brought Tauseef H. Farooqi — former Chairman of NEPRA — directly into the PPA architecture work. Tariff was structured so that the methodology survived in both jurisdictions by separating pass-through and recoverable capital components in a way each regulator recognised. Fuel-supply arrangements were drafted with explicit sovereign-risk allocation rather than implied. Dispute resolution was drafted for a neutral venue enforceable under the New York Convention. Regulator dialogues were run in parallel, not sequential.
Outcome
Financing structured and committed. The PPA cleared the relevant regulatory review cycles. The sponsor has since brought a second cross-border mandate to LMA on the strength of the regulator-grade bench.
Led by
Tauseef H. Farooqi · Q. Bilal Khan Niazi
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