Khalifa Port operator agrees Dh300m loan facility for expansion

The financing agreement takes care of Abu Dhabi Terminals' long-term financial needs for Khalifa Port.

Khalifa Port can currently handles about 2 million TEUs twenty-foot equivalent units per year. Reuters
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The operator of Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port has agreed a Dh300 million financing facility to help fund its expansion.

Abu Dhabi Terminals (ADT) announced the nine-year agreement with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) yesterday as it seeks to expand the port’s capacity to 2.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year.

It will be used for a mixture of capital expenditure and corporate services, together with the re-financing of a short-term bridge loan from ADCB that expired at the end of last month.

"ADCB is committed to playing an integral role in the development of the UAE's critical infrastructure, and is proud to be the key relationship bank for Abu Dhabi Terminals," said Colin Fraser, the head of wholesale banking at ADCB.

The financing agreement takes care of ADT’s long-term financial needs for Khalifa Port, according to the company’s chief financial officer, Ole Pugholm, who ruled out any loan or bond issuances in the near future.

“If we go to the market again, it would be for the acquisition of stakes in other port companies but we don’t have any plans for that at this moment,” he said.

The ADCB facility will provide the operator with the financing required to complete its share of the initial phase of the port’s development, raising its capacity to 2.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year, said Mr Pugholm.

The port can currently handle about 2 million TEUs per year.

Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC), the port’s developer, will fund the main capital expenditure projects of the port’s development, while ADT will be responsible for investment in supporting equipment, said Mr Pugholm.

ADT is majority owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi through ADPC, Mubadala and Mubadala Infrastructure Partners Ports.

The company operates Khalifa Port Container Terminal (KPCT) via an exclusive 30-year concession from ADPC, and is classified as a strategic entity for the Government of Abu Dhabi.

jeverington@thenational.ae

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