The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $100 million A Loan to finance the construction, operation and maintenance of a new private mixed-use container and liquids terminal in Brazil’s Santos Port, the largest port complex in the region.
The A loan will come from the IDB’s Ordinary Capital and will finance the first phase of the Project, which is critical in easing congestion and reducing costs in Santos. The IDB A loan will be coupled with a large syndicated B Loan from international commercial banks with a total IDB A/B loan of over US$400 million.
In parallel, Caixa Economica Federal of Brazil has also approved separate financing for the Project that, alongside the IDB financing, will complete the long-term debt portion of the financial plan. Tenors of each loan will be long-term in nature in order to match the repayment profile of the Project.
The first phase of the new terminal will have an expected capacity of 1.2 million TEU (a measure that refers to number of 20-foot containers that the facility can handle per year) and approximately 2.0 million tons of liquid bulk per year. The project will improve the port’s capabilities to receive a new generation of deeper-draft container ships, which have already become commonplace in the global shipping market, helping reduce waiting lines outside the port.
The new terminal will also contribute to improved traffic conditions in the city because it will have adequate road and rail connections, and will be located away from the congested urban area of Santos itself. The new terminal will create approximately 2,000 direct jobs during construction as well as 550 employees at the outset of the operation and 1,000 at full capacity.