PNCT secures $298m terminal infrastructure development bond

Port Newark Container Terminal will use the proceeds to refinance existing debt and finance its future terminal development project.    Port Newark Container Terminal (PNCT) has closed on a tax-exempt bond transaction in which it secured $298 million in bond proceeds to be used to refinance existing debt and finance its future terminal development project, PNCT confirmed Thursday.
   The transaction closed Dec. 28, 2017.
   Bond credit rating agency Moody’s Investor Service has assigned a first-time Ba1 rating to Port Newark Container Terminal’s series 2017 special facility revenue and refunding bonds, PNCT said.
   PNCT, an integrated marine terminal operator and stevedore company, handles about 20 percent of the container volumes at the Port of New York and New Jersey. It currently operates within a 263-acre footprint that has a capacity of 1.49 million TEUs and exclusive on-dock rail operations.
   The development project is expected to expand the terminal’s footprint by 17 percent to 309 acres, plus increase the terminal’s capacity to 2.3 million TEUs, officials said. The project includes the expansion and improvement of the terminal yard and construction of a new gate facility, as well as upgrading, deepening and expanding berths.
   Additionally, PNCT has ordered four new gantry cranes capable of servicing ultra-large container vessels and will continue with the expansion of its straddle carrier fleet. The terminal development project is expected to be completed by 2019.