ICBC provides loan for San Pedro Port Extension Project

On November 2, 2016, Terminal Industriel Polyvalent de San Pedro S.A. (TIPSP) — a project company and wholly owned subsidiary of Snedai Energies — was locally incorporated in the Ivory Coast. Then, on May 29, 2017, TIPSP was granted a 35-year a concession by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to design, build, finance and operate a new bulk terminal in San Pedro, Ivory Coast with the capacity to accommodate “Panamax” and "Handymax" vessels. On April 23, 2018, Mr. Hilaire Marcel LAMIZANA, Managing Director of the Autonomous Port of San Pedro (PASP), and Mr. Chen Mi Li, Managing Director West Africa of the China Harbor Engineering Co Ltd (CHEC), signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding the extension of San Pedro Port, Côte d’Ivoire’s second largest port (by tonnage). China Eximbank and ICBC reportedly competed with each other for the financing of this public-private partnership (PPP) project. The Government of Côte d’Ivoire later announced that ICBC would be the financier of the San Pedro Port Extension Project. The purpose of the project is to expand San Pedro Port, Côte d’Ivoire’s second largest port (by tonnage). It involves dredging a basin and access channel, rehabilitating or extending the west and east dikes, constructing a container terminal and terminal access road (current cement plant road), and backfilling 150 hectares in the port area. After the commissioning of the first phase of project (initially scheduled for completion at the end of 2021), the port will allow the processing of solid and liquid bulk cargoes, including ores (including manganese, nickel, and lithium), cement products, petroleum products, and fertilizers. CHEC is the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. A foundation stone laying ceremony took place on March 19, 2018. CHEC was then selected as the EPC contractor in June 2018. Construction began in June 2019. As of November 1, 2021, the project had achieved an 80% completion rate. 600 jobs were directly created during the construction phase, and once the port is in operation, it is expected to employ 120 people and create many more jobs indirectly in an around San Pedro.

Additional details

1. The French project title is Projet d'extension du port de San Pedro or Projet de construction du nouveau terminal industriel polyvalent. The Chinese project title is 圣佩德罗港口的发展 or 科特迪瓦圣佩德罗港口 or 科特迪瓦圣佩德罗港口扩建项目. 2. On April 24, 2019, Mr. Hilaire Lamizana, Director General of San Pedro Port Authority in Cote d'Ivoire, met with Mr. Lin Yichong, Chairman of CHEC, in Beijing. 3. In January 2020, the European Commission has approved the acquisition of joint control over four project companies (including TIPSP) with concessions to build or operate port terminals in West Africa by Denmark’s A.P. Møller Capital (APMC). 4. Snedai Energies is owned by Adama Bictogo, a former CIV Minister of African Integration. 5. Some sources suggest that TIPSP is a joint venture between Arise Ports and Logistics (Arise P&L) and Snedai Energies. This issue merits further investigation. 6. The face value and borrowing terms of the ICBC loan are unknown. This issue merits further investigation.

Number of official sources

29

Number of total sources

45