Structured disbursement
Money is released against construction milestones and the promoter’s margin — not in one tranche — so the lender funds progress, not promises.
Debt sized to the project, not just the balance sheet.
Project Finance — Greenfield, Brownfield & Syndicated, Walked to First Drawdown
Project debt lives or dies on the cash-flow model, the security structure and the disbursement plan. We arrange greenfield, brownfield and infrastructure project finance across PSU and private banks, NBFCs and AIFs — building the bankable project report and DSCR model, structuring the DSRA and escrow waterfall, and running the consortium on large tickets through to first drawdown. Part of Finnova’s ₹4,250 Cr+ mobilised across 100+ corporate-finance mandates since 2011.
Greenfield · Brownfield · Infra DSRA & escrow waterfall Consortium-ready
Finnova’s corporate-finance track record since 2011, in numbers
₹4,250 Cr+
Capital mobilised across sectors₹550 Cr
Largest single facility structured~1.5x
DSCR — a common comfort threshold12–20 wks
Typical mandate-to-first-drawdownSince 2011
CA / ex-banker, senior on every fileProject finance is long-tenor debt raised against the cash flows and assets of a specific project — a new plant, an infrastructure asset, a renewable installation — rather than primarily against the sponsor’s existing balance sheet. It is sized to projected cash flows and secured with structured disbursement, a Debt Service Reserve Account (DSRA) and an escrow / trust-and-retention waterfall that ring-fences the money. It is a fund-based facility, structured very differently from a plain corporate term loan. See the full corporate finance & debt syndication practice.
Finnova Advisory is an advisory firm — we structure the file and negotiate the terms; the lender sanctions and disburses. Rates and timelines are indicative, dated and case-driven — never a promise.
Greenfield, brownfield & infrastructure
Three project profiles — funded differently
An operating history changes everything a lender will do. We structure the debt to the risk, not to a template.
| Project type | Lender risk | What it is & how it’s funded | Indicative tenor |
|---|---|---|---|
| TypeGreenfield | RiskHigher | How it’s fundedNew build, no operating history — funded on projections, contracts and sponsor track record. Longer moratorium, tighter covenants. | TenorUp to ~15 yrs (PSU) |
| TypeBrownfield | RiskModerate | How it’s fundedExpansion or acquisition of an operating asset — actual cash flows de-risk the case; usually faster and cheaper to fund. | TenorUp to ~12 yrs |
| TypeInfrastructure | RiskSector-specific | How it’s fundedRoads, power, renewables, ports — often contracted revenues (PPA / annuity) that support longer tenor and a lower DSCR. | TenorUp to ~15–20 yrs |
Indicative — varies by sector, sponsor, contracts and prevailing rates. Read more on greenfield vs brownfield project finance and how greenfield projects are financed.
How a project loan is kept safe
The structure behind the disbursement
Project debt isn’t just a number and a rate — it’s a set of mechanics that give the lender control of the cash. Getting them right is what gets the file sanctioned.
DSRA
A Debt Service Reserve Account holds one or two instalments of principal and interest, so a temporary cash dip doesn’t trip a default.
Escrow / TRA waterfall
All project receipts route through a controlled account and pay out in priority — opex, then debt service, then reserves, then sponsor distributions.
DSCR & stress testing
The coverage ratio is modelled across the tenor and stress-tested for delay and cost overrun — the worst single year matters as much as the average.
Security package
Charge over project assets, the escrow, contracts and often a sponsor guarantee — aligned across all lenders in a consortium.
Moratorium & repayment
A moratorium through construction and ramp-up, then a repayment ladder matched to when the project actually starts generating cash.
How project finance is arranged
From project report to first drawdown
A clear path with senior people on the file — and a bankable model that answers the lender’s engineer before the question is asked.
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Project & financial diligence
1–2 weeksProject report, cost estimate, revenue contracts and the financial model reviewed — and the DSCR stress-tested for delay and cost overrun.
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Lender shortlist & structure
1 weekRight lenders (and, for large tickets, a consortium) matched to the sector, tenor and risk; disbursement, DSRA and escrow structure fixed.
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Sanction-grade pack
2–3 weeksThe bankable project report, the model and the credit note built to withstand a credit committee — submitted to the lenders.
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Appraisal & sanction
4–8 weeksCredit-committee process, the lenders’ engineer / TEV review where required, and term-sheet negotiation on rate, tenor, moratorium, covenants and security.
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Documentation & first drawdown
3–4 weeksCommon security documentation, the trust-and-retention / escrow setup, CP compliance and the first structured disbursement.
Why Finnova for project finance
We build the model the lender’s engineer can’t poke holes in
A broker hands over a contact; we run the mandate — the bankable model, the right consortium, the security structure and follow-through to first drawdown.
01
Bankable model & DSCR
A stress-tested cash-flow model and project report built to survive credit committee and the lenders’ engineer.
02
Structure that gets sanctioned
Disbursement, DSRA, escrow waterfall and security package designed so the lender keeps control of the cash.
03
Consortium bandwidth
Multi-bank consortium build-outs with lead-bank coordination and common security on large tickets.
04
Walked to first drawdown
Documentation, CP compliance and the first structured disbursement — we stay on the file until the money moves.
Consultation
Tell us about the project
One conversation tells you the right lender or consortium, the indicative structure and how fast the project can move from mandate to first drawdown. No pitch — a straight read from people who run project mandates every week.
Thank you — your enquiry has been submitted
We’ve received your details. A senior member of our team will review them and get back to you within one business day. Everything you’ve shared stays strictly confidential.
FAQ
Project finance, answered
Project finance is long-tenor debt raised against the cash flows and assets of a specific project — a new plant, an infrastructure asset, a renewable installation — rather than primarily against the sponsor’s existing balance sheet. Repayment is sized to the project’s projected cash flows, with security over project assets, a debt service reserve and an escrow that ring-fences the money. It is structured very differently from a plain corporate term loan.
A greenfield project is built from scratch — there is no operating history, so lenders rely on projections, contracts and the sponsor’s track record, and the risk (and pricing) is higher. A brownfield project is an expansion or acquisition of an already-operating asset, where actual cash flows reduce the uncertainty. Greenfield debt carries a longer moratorium and tighter covenants; brownfield is usually faster and cheaper to fund.
A debt service coverage ratio of around 1.5x is a common comfort threshold for project debt, though it varies by sector and risk profile — infrastructure with contracted revenues may pass at a lower ratio, merchant or demand-risk projects need more headroom. What a lender really studies is the average DSCR across the loan tenor and the worst single year, stress-tested against delays and cost overruns.
A Debt Service Reserve Account (DSRA) holds a buffer — typically one or two instalments of principal and interest — so a temporary cash dip doesn’t trigger a default. An escrow (or trust-and-retention) waterfall routes all project receipts through a controlled account and pays them out in a fixed priority: operating costs, then debt service, then reserves, then distributions to the sponsor. Together they are how a lender keeps control of the cash in a project loan.
When a single bank can’t or won’t carry the whole ticket, the facility is syndicated — arranged from several lenders as a consortium (one common facility, shared security, a lead bank) or via multiple banking. We build the sanction-grade pack, run the lead-bank process, align the lenders on common security and covenants, and coordinate documentation through to first drawdown.
A structured project or syndicated facility typically runs 12–20 weeks from mandate to first drawdown, depending on complexity, consortium size and regulatory or environmental clearances. The single biggest lever on that timeline is a complete, bankable project report and a sanction-grade financial model — which is exactly where we add the most value.