The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has approved a US $200M revolving dual-tranche financing facility for Shoreline Power Company Limited and its co-borrowers, including Italy-based engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor Arkad SpA, which is majority owned by Nigeria’s Shoreline Group.
The funding will support Arkad’s role in the US $980M Hassi Bir Rekaiz (HBR) Field Development Phase 2a project in Algeria, reinforcing the bank’s commitment to advancing African-led infrastructure development. The financing, approved in June 2026, will cover Arkad’s 44% share of the landmark EPC contract awarded by Groupement Hassi Bir Rekaiz (GHBR), a joint venture comprising Algeria’s Sonatrach, Thailand’s PTTEP and Spain’s CEPSA. The project is among Algeria’s largest upstream oil and gas developments and is expected to strengthen the country’s production capacity.
Afreximbank is acting as the sole mandated lead arranger and lender for the transaction. The package consists of a US $110M contract finance facility to support performance and advance payment guarantees, as well as working capital requirements linked to the HBR Phase 2a contract. The remaining US $90M is structured as a revolving global facility to finance Shoreline and its affiliates as they pursue pipeline and infrastructure projects in Nigeria and other approved markets.
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Economic cooperation
The financing follows growing economic cooperation fostered during the fourth Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025), held in Algiers in September 2025, where trade and investment agreements worth approximately US $50bn were concluded. Afreximbank said the current transaction reflects the practical outcomes of partnerships initiated during the event.
The HBR Phase 2a project includes the construction of a new central processing facility that is expected to increase oil and gas production at the field from around 13,000 barrels per day to between 50,000 and 60,000 barrels per day. The expansion is anticipated to generate substantial export earnings for Sonatrach while strengthening Algeria’s energy sector.
Beyond the immediate infrastructure investment, the financing is expected to enhance the capabilities of Arkad and the Shoreline Group as African engineering contractors capable of executing large-scale sovereign infrastructure projects. The partnership between Arkad and Egypt’s state-owned Petrojet also highlights increasing collaboration among African companies, reducing reliance on non-African EPC firms while promoting skills transfer and technical expertise across the continent.
The transaction has been structured under Afreximbank’s EPC Initiative, a programme designed to provide African engineering and construction companies with financial and technical support to compete for major infrastructure contracts. The project is expected to create about 6,000 jobs while stimulating local supply chains and industrial activity in Algeria.
Afreximbank said the financing also represents a direct outcome of the matchmaking and EPC partnership initiatives facilitated during IATF2025, where it helped establish the collaboration between Arkad and Petrojet before supporting the consortium’s successful bid for the HBR contract. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President for Intra-African Trade Finance and Export Development at Afreximbank, said the financing demonstrates the bank’s commitment to empowering African-owned engineering firms to compete on major international projects while supporting strategic infrastructure development across the continent.
She noted that the transaction not only advances Algeria’s energy infrastructure but also strengthens intra-African trade in engineering and construction services involving companies from Nigeria, Egypt and Italy. According to Awani, the deal reflects Africa’s growing industrial capacity and reinforces Afreximbank’s role in supporting African firms undertaking transformative infrastructure projects. The financing also marks the first time Afreximbank has backed a Sub-Saharan African contractor executing a major infrastructure project in North Africa, underscoring the bank’s broader objective of promoting regional integration and building competitive pan-African engineering champions.
