Two deals worth a combined R14.7-billion led by the Corporate and Investment Banking division of Barclays Africa have secured four top international awards.

The banking firm was awarded Overall African Deal of the Year for 2013 as well as Africa Power Deal of the Year for 2013 by Project Finance magazine for arranging funding for two greenfield open-cycle gas-turbine (OCGT) power plants in South Africa.

Barclays Africa acted as a lead arranger, senior lender, account bank, hedge coordinator and hedge provider on the deal.

Barclays Africa was also awarded the African Renewable Deal of the Year in the 2013 Project Finance International awards for the bank’s successful raising of $550-million to fund the Bokpoort concentrated solar power (CSP) renewable-energy project, in the Northern Cape.

This deal, in which Barclays Africa acted as joint mandated lead arranger, providing part of the 18-year debt funding, was also recognised in late 2013 as the Solar Deal of the Year by bi-monthly magazine World Finance.

The two OCGT projects, known as the Peakers power projects, would provide energy to the grid at peak demand periods, becoming Africa’s first greenfield thermal power projects to be delivered by an independent producer.

The project involved the design, construction, operation and maintenance of two OCGT plants – a 335 MW plant at Dedisa, in the Eastern Cape, and a 670 MW power plant at Avon, in KwaZulu-Natal.

Each facility boasted on-site fuel and water storage for a continuous 45 hours of full-load operations.

Barclays Africa Investment Banking head Philip Lindop said in a statement that these accolades recognised the bank’s leading position in the power and energy sector in Africa.

“We are delighted to have been recognised for our commitment to supporting the growth and development of the energy sector in Africa, and helping our clients achieve their ambitions in the right way. The development of the power and energy sector in Africa is crucial to the sustainable success of the continent,” he commented.

Lindop added that the awards also served to highlight the larger role that the bank was playing in the South African renewable-energy sector.

In November 2013, Barclays Africa secured mandates to provide R10.8-billion debt funding to a total of six projects, including wind, solar photovoltaic and CSP, under the third round of government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

This was about one-third of the total debt committed by South Africa’s commercial banks, positioning Barclays Africa as one of the largest funders of round three of the REIPPPP.