ICTSI Australia unit secures over $300m in funding for VICT

Victoria International Container Terminal has signed a syndicated loan facility worth $398 million Australian with seven financial institutions to support ongoing construction and development at Webb Dock East in the Port of Melbourne.    The Australia unit of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. has secured over $300 million in additional funding for its Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), the company said Friday.
   VICT has signed a syndicated loan facility worth $398 million Australian (U.S. $302.54 million) with seven financial institutions to support its ongoing construction and development at Webb Dock East in the Port of Melbourne, Australia. The financial institutions included Citibank N.A., KFW IPEX-Bank, Standard Chartered Bank as Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners, Bank of China Limited, DBS Bank Ltd., Investec Bank PLC as Mandated Lead Arrangers, and Cathay United Bank as Lead Arranger.
   The facility provides significant financial flexibility with long-dated tenors of seven, 10 and 16 years, according to ICTSI.
   Finnvera, a Finland-based export credit agency, also participated in the transaction by providing a guarantee for a portion of the facility, and Linklaters and Allens acted as the legal advisor to Citicorp with Capital Philippines, Inc. as the financial advisor to VICT. 
   Construction of the Victoria International Container Terminal, one of the most innovative, sustainable, fully automated container terminals in the world, began in late 2014 and will be completed in two phases. Phase One is expected to be ready for commercial operations in fourth quarter 2016, and Phase Two is scheduled to be ready for use in 2017. 
   ICTSI last October secured a major project finance facility when Contecon Manzanillo S.A. de C.V. signed a $260 million loan for its port development and operations in the Port of Manzanillo, Mexico.
   “The confidence of the banks in both VICT and ICTSI that this transaction demonstrates is a confirmation of both the robustness of the VICT business plan as well as the strong track record of ICTSI in effectively implementing container terminal projects,” the Manila-based global port terminal operator said in a statement.
   “VICT is extremely pleased to have signed this project finance facility with internationally renowned banks as this is a testament to the viability of VICT,” added VICT Chief Executive Officer Anders Dommestrup. “We remain committed to working with all our partners – the Port of Melbourne, local community, our contractors, and now our lenders – to deliver to Melbourne a world-class and industry leading container terminal.”
   “The VICT deal has pushed the project finance envelope in Australia on a number of aspects, and this has made the process quite challenging, said Manuel V. Pascua, Corporate Finance Director for ICTSI. “Thanks to the collaborative effort put in together with our lending partners, we achieved a final debt structure that positions VICT for both short and long term financial strength.”