The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Energy Absolute, one of the largest renewable energy companies in Thailand, have signed a THB 160 million (USD 4.7 million) loan agreement to finance an electric ferry fleet for mass rapid transport in Bangkok—the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.
ADB led the structuring of the project’s finance. It includes a USD 3.6 million concessional loan from the Clean Technology Fund, which finances the demonstration, deployment, and transfer of low-carbon technologies with significant potential for long-term greenhouse gas emissions savings, as well as investments from the Japan International Cooperation Agency and Export–Import Bank of Thailand.
The financing will be used for the E Smart Bangkok Mass Rapid Transit Electric Ferries Project. E Smart Transport Company Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Absolute, will operate 27 e-ferries along the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. Each ferry can comfortably carry up to 250 passengers per trip. The project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 18,900 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent a year.
Energy Absolute, which was established in 2006, is one of the largest renewable energy companies in Thailand and a pioneer of sustainable transport in the country. ADB supported the company for its maiden green bond issuance in 2019 and its first certified green loan financing in 2020.
(Source: Asian Development Bank)
