China Construction Bank contributes $15 million AUD to the $90 million AUD term loan tranche of a $930 million AUD syndicated loan for the Gold Coast and Townsville Airport Development and Upgrade Project (Linked to Record ID#94537, #94539, and #94540)

Project narrative

On September 14, 2016, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of six banks — including China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) — entered into a $930.00 million AUD ($695.84 million USD) syndicated loan agreement with QAL Finance Pty Ltd — a special purpose vehicle (SPV) and joint venture of Vantage Infrastructure (74% equity stake), Perron Investments (25% equity stake), and 1% (private investor), then later a wholly owned subsidiary of Queensland Airports Limited — for the Gold Coast and Townsville Airport Development and Upgrade Project. This syndicated loan was divided into four tranches: a $485.00 million AUD ($362.89 million USD) term loan tranche with a maturity period of three years and a final maturity period of September 14, 2019; a $90.00 million AUD ($67.34 million USD) term loan tranche with a maturity period of three years and a final maturity period of September 14, 2019; a $350.00 million AUD ($261.88 million USD) term loan tranche with a maturity period of five years and a final maturity period of September 14, 2021; and a $5.00 million AUD ($3.74 million USD) working capital tranche with a maturity period of five years and a final maturity period of September 14, 2021. The proceeds of this loan were to be used by the borrower to support existing capital structures and fund Gold Coast and Townsville Airport developments and upgrades in Queensland. All six lenders, including CCB, contributed equally to each tranche: $80.83 million AUD ($60.48 million USD) each for the $485 million AUD term loan tranche, $15.00 million AUD ($11.22 million USD) to the $90 million AUD term loan tranche, $58.33 million AUD ($43.65 million USD) to the $350 million AUD term loan tranche, and $0.83 million AUD ($0.62 million USD) to the $5 million AUD working capital tranche. In addition to CCB, the following banks participated in this syndicated loan: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Westpac Banking Corporation, National Australia Bank Limited (NAB), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), and MUFG Bank, Ltd. Record ID#94537 captures CCB's $80.83 million AUD contribution to the $485 million AUD term loan tranche. Record ID#94538 captures CCB's $15.00 million AUD contribution to the $90 million AUD term loan tranche. Record ID#94539 captures CCB's $58.33 million AUD contribution to the $350 million AUD term loan tranche. Record ID#94540 captures CCB's $0.83 million AUD contribution to the $5 million AUD term loan tranche. The Gold Coast Airport expansion, known as Project LIFT (Let’s Invest for Tomorrow), featured the construction of new aircraft stands and aerobridges and an upgrade to its terminal; specifically, the apron was to be expanded to accommodate another five aircraft stands and four new aerobridges, and the terminal was to be almost doubled in size. The expansion also included the construction of a consolidate ground transport facility that included a new taxi staging area, covered boarding for coaches, mini-buses, and limousines, covered pedestrian walkways, and circulation roads for ground transport modes. It also included plans to introduce self-check-in and bag drop services in mid-2017. The project was expected to create approximately 230 full time jobs during construction, with another 180 jobs once the terminal expansion was finished. The project was to be conducted in two stages; with the first stage upgrading the airport's southern end by a terminal development, adding three Code E aircraft parking stands, and two aerobridges. The first stage was expected to be ready by the end of 2017, ready to host visitors from the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The second stage was to be finished by early 2021. The Australian Federal Government issued approval for the expansion in February 2016. In 2015, Watpac was awarded the contract to manage construction work during the first stage. In March 2019, QAL awarded a contract to Lendlease for the development of the southern terminal. Civil works on the $300 million AUD project began in June 2016. The civil works component was completed in March 2018. The 20,000 square meter expansion of the apron area was completed in April 2018. During the 2019/20 fiscal year, the expanded terminal was topped off. While the COVID-19 pandemic caused revision of the delivery timeline, construction continued. During the 2020/21 fiscal year, substantial progress was made on the Gold Coast Airport expansion, with opening expected in 2022. During the 2021/22 fiscal year, closing progress was made on the building's exterior and, by August 2022, most of the interior was completed. The terminal opened on September 8, 2022. The Townsville Airport redevelopment project, known as Project Alive, sought to upgrade the Townsville Airport's existing terminal and apron facilities. The expansion had a initial cost of $40 million AUD, later expanded to $80 million AUD. It received approval from the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development in January 2017. It was designed to be implemented in two stages, the first one adding an expanded upper concourse with two new club lounges, a larger airside seating area, new retail space, and modern services, and the second stage including the moving of the engineering offices, the installation of a new escalator, upgrades to security screening, and extended ground floor to handle more baggage handling facilities. The apron upgrades consisted of the addition of 18,000 square meters of parking space for wide-body aircraft and a renovation of the existing apron. An extension of Meenan Street, to connect it with John Melton Drive, the future entry and exit point to the airport, was also included, as well as the installation of an automatic gate system to the entrance of the airport at Halifax Street, to open only to residents and emergency services. The Townsville expansion was also supported by a March 2019 $50 million AUD loan from the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility (NAIF). The Catalyst Infrastructure Programme provided $9 million AUD. The entryway was supported by the Australian Government's Building Better Region’s fund. In October 2017, BMD Constructions was contracted for the construction of the apron upgrade. Core Developments was contracted for the building demolition works. RCP was contracted to provide project management services. Shamrock Civil was contracted for the Meenan Street extension. Construction was expected to begin in 2017. Construction began in 2017. The early works package was completed in the 2017/2018 fiscal year. During the 2019/20 fiscal year, Lendlease delivered the upgrade to the terminal at Townsville Airport. Additionally, QAL appointed i4architecture and Group GSA to refresh the terminal design. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays in the timeline. During the 2020/21 fiscal year, work was made expanding the Townsville Airport's security screening area, partially financed with funding from the Australian Federal Government-Regional Airports Screening Infrastructure (RASI). Additionally, the changed entryway was completed in September 2020. During the 2021/22 fiscal year, the security screening area was completed in March 2022, with retail works in progress.