Cross-border team advises on financing of Codelco water supply project

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised a consortium, consisting of Marubeni Corporation and Transelec, on the development and financing of an independent water plant (IWP) in Chile. 

The Project will supply water to three mines belonging to Chilean state-owned mining company Codelco, the offtaker, in the Antofagasta region. The reverse osmosis desalination plant will have an initial capacity of 840 litres per second with the potential for later expansion of up to 1,956 litres per second, reducing Codelco’s groundwater consumption by 60 percent.

Norton Rose Fulbright partner and head of energy for Europe, Middle East and Asia, Charles Whitney, commented: “This Project is a great example of resilience in the face of adversity. The Sponsors and Codelco have worked together on the development of this project through Covid-19, supply chain issues and a changing global landscape. With strong support from their bank group, the stakeholders have closed the financing of a project that will help Codelco address the constant water supply issues that the country faces while adding jobs to the local economy. We wish the Sponsors and all stakeholders all the best as they now move in to the construction stage.”

George Gibson, partner and head of the firm’s Tokyo office, said: “We are delighted to have been able to use the multijurisdictional expertise and capabilities of our cross-border team to assist the Sponsors with the financing of this significant and complex project. Upon construction, this will considerably help alleviate some of the challenges imposed by water scarcity in the region, ultimately reducing Codelco’s fresh water consumption by nearly two thirds.”

The multijurisdictional and multidisciplinary Norton Rose Fulbright team was led by partners Charles Whitney and Chris Down, together with partners George Gibson and Marian Baldwin Fuerst. They were supported by counsel Matt Hacking, senior associates Claire Tuch and Jane Reichhelm and associates Damian Flores Sotelo, Miguel Torres Caro, Dima Khuffash and Shaheer Momeni, as well as teams across the firm’s Tokyo, New York, Washington and Mexico offices.