Project finance is the funding (financing) of long-term infrastructure, industrial projects, and public services using a non-recourse or limited recourse financial structure. The debt and equity used to finance the project are paid back from the cash flow generated by the project.

Project financing is a loan structure that relies primarily on the project’s cash flow for repayment, with the project’s assets, rights, and interests held as secondary collateral. Project finance is especially attractive to the private sector because companies can fund major projects off-balance sheet (OBS).

• KEY TAKEAWAYS
  Project finance involves the public funding of infrastructure and other long-term, capital-intensive projects.
  This often utilizes a non-recourse or limited recourse financial structure.
  Project debt is typically held in a sufficient minority subsidiary not consolidated on the balance sheet of the respective shareholders (i.e., it is an off-balance sheet item).