China Development Bank provides $350 million loan for Phase I Stage II of Colombo Port Expansion Project (linked to Record ID#s #54211, #54212).

Project narrative

On September 23, 2011, a consortium led by China Merchants Port Holdings and Sri Lankan conglomerate Aitken Spence PLC signed a $500 million USD deal with the Sri Lankan Government to build and operate the Colombo South Container Terminal. China Merchants Port Holdings, Aitken Spence PLC, and the Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) then established a joint venture (special purpose vehicle) called Colombo International Container Terminals Ltd., (CICT) (see Record ID#54211) was established to oversee the financing, design, and construction of this project, which is also known as Colombo's third container terminal. CICT was awarded 35-year build, operate, and transfer (BOT) agreement from SLPA as part of the larger Colombo South Harbor Expansion project. The Colombo South Container Terminal Project was reportedly financed according to a debt-to-equity ratio of 60:40. On May 9, 2012, China Development Bank (CDB) provided a $350 million USD loan to CICT for the debt portion of the project. By the end of 2015, $330 million had been disbursed through this loan. China Merchants Port Holdings, Aitken Spence PLC and Sri Lanka Port Authority initially provided the 40% equity funding for the joint venture, CICT. The breakdown of their equity share were as follows: 55% for China Merchants Port Holdings, 30% for Aitken Spence PLC, and 15% for Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA). However, in January 2012, China Merchants Port Holdings acquired Aitken Spence's entire 30% interest (see Record ID#54212), bringing its total equity interest to 85%. SLPA still holds a 15% ownership stake in the joint venture. The total quay length is 1200 meters, with a designed throughput of 2.4 million TEUs. Upon completion, it was expected to accommodate the world's largest container vessels at 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). The construction work of the South Container Terminal commenced on December 1, 2011 and the terminal was ceremonially opened for traffic on August 5, 2013. Phase II (entire terminal) was completed in its entirety on April 23, 2014, at which point a completion ceremony was held.