Project Financing 549Exhibit 27.3 Mechanism to cover risk
Project phase/risk Participant Mechanism
Developmental phase
- Technology risk Sponsors Equity or subordinated debt
- Credit risk Banks, developers Letter of credit
sponsors Credit rating - Bid risk sponsors, Equity
Financial advisors Success fee
Construction phase - Completion risk Contractors Performance guarantee
Sponsors Turnkey contracts
Suppliers Performance guarantee - Cost over-run risk Sponsors Fixed-price contracts
Sub-contractors Completion bonds
Fixed-price contracts
Completion bonds - Performance risk Sponsors Performance guarantee
- Political risk Sponsors JV with public partner
Operating phase - Performance risk O&M contractor Equity, performance guarantee
- Cost over-run risk Sponsors Fixed-price contracts
- Offtake risk Sponsors Take or pay, Take and pay
Consumers Advance payments
Source: Biedelman, Carl R et al. (1990).
Free Cash Flow Problem
Free cash flow is the residual cash flow available to managers after meeting the normal investment and debt
servicing needs. Managers have discretion over the use of free cash flow in the sense that they can return it
to shareholders or reinvest in some other business. Left to their own device managers may pursue negative
NPV projects for the sake of growth leaving the shareholders in the lurch. Project financing can give investors
control over free cash flow. Since the project has a finite life, the free cash flow is typically redistributed to
shareholders who in turn decide where to invest their money (agreements prevent the siphoning of project
cash flows through dividends or other channels). Moreover, heavy debt financing in the case of project
finances enforces financial discipline on managers.
Expansion of Sponsors’ Debt Capacity
As pointed out earlier, project finance is not dependent on the credit support of the sponsors of the project but
on the strength of the contractual arrangement between parties and expected cash flows. This means that the
sponsor who does not have a high credit rating can also lever up on the basis of the project related contracts
—more specifically, the one with the output purchaser. This enables the sponsor to avail the benefit of debt—
the tax shield and, hence, higher firm value. The projects undertaken by project companies generally have
low bankruptcy costs, as their assets are largely tangible assets that are not affected by the bankruptcy
process.^1 For instance, a change in ownership in the case of a power project or toll road is not likely to affect
(^1) Brealy, Richard et al. (1996).