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From the very beginning of the development process relating to any specific project, the project’s sponsors will continually assess and analyse the best available sources of capital for the project. The sponsors will seek to obtain funding at the lowest achievable cost; they will seek to minimize as far as practicable the sponsors’ equity contribution and will look to achieve the longest-possible debt tenors. This chapter discusses a variety of sources potentially available to sponsors pursuing a project finance funding plan. These sources include equity, equity bridge loans, subordinated shareholder debt, mezzanine debt, bank debt, Islamic project finance, capital markets, public sector lenders in project financings, export credit finance, multilateral agencies and development finance institutions, and leveraged and finance lease arrangements. The chapter concludes with an overview of the reasons for entering into, and a description of the role of, term sheets, letters of intent, commitment letters, and mandate letters.

This chapter provides an overview of the various sources of funding, the cost of funding, access to the debt markets, and the considerations of key participants in current market conditions. As the project finance market evolves, new funders and funding techniques emerge. This chapter explores how contractual relationships between the equity participants and debt providers are structured and how risk is allocated between different types of funders. It discusses the role that sponsors, export credit agencies, multilateral agencies, development finance institutions, and commercial banks play in the project finance market. Finally, the chapter considers the role and use of letters of intent, term sheets, commitment letters, and mandate letters, and analyses the key documentation issues of relevance to the market participants.