A loan of $1.184m has been agreed for the construction of a 1,600 MW gas combined cycle thermal power plant in Thailand.

The plant will be run by a local subsidiary of Japan’s Electric Power Development Co (J-Power) under a 25-year deal, with operations set to start in 2014.

Funding for the project in the Nong Saeng district of Saraburi Province comes from five banks, including the Japan Bank for International Co-operation and the Asian Development Bank.

Tokyo-based J-Power won the independent power producer (IIP) contract for the plant in 2007 through the Thai government’s electric power development plan. It has due to begin construction on another IIP project in the country next year.