KARACHI, PAKISTAN, Dec. 4—The International Finance Corporation (IFC) today signed an agreement to provide US$17 million in loans to Engro Paktank Terminal Limited for a US$65 million project to develop Pakistan’s first dedicated port terminal and storage facility for handling chemical products.
Located at Port Qasim, Pakistan’s second major port which is close to Karachi, the facility will serve the needs of new chemical projects being set up in the region. It will thus promote downstream industrial development and provide an alternative for the handling of chemical products away from the heavily congested port of Karachi.
Engro Paktank Terminal Limited is a joint venture between Engro Chemical Pakistan Limited, one of Pakistan’s largest companies and Royal Pakhoed of the Netherlands, a leading international provider of logistics and distribution services to the petroleum and chemicals industry.
Mr. Jean-Philippe Halphen, Director of IFC’s Chemicals, Petrochemicals, and Fertilizers Department said, “The project will be a critical building block for the continued growth of an indigenous chemicals industry in the Karachi region and in Pakistan as a whole. It will also provide efficient, cost effective logistics, which is one of the key elements of international competitiveness for all firms.”
IFC’s financing will consist of a loan of up to US$12 million for its own account and a syndicated loan of up to US$5 million for the account of participants.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral source of equity and loan financing for private sector projects in developing countries.
