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Lome, 9 January, 2013—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced the completion of a €225 million debt package for Togo’s Lome Container Terminal, SA (LCT). IFC is the sole lead arranger on the LCT financing that was mobilized from a consortium of financiers that include the
African Development Bank, Germany’s DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, FMO of The Netherlands, the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), and France’s PROPARCO
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The major infrastructure project is Togo’s largest-ever private investment project and will play a critical role in reducing costs and trade impediments and encouraging regional integration.
LCT will use the funding to develop a new transshipment container terminal within the Port of Lomé.
Lome has one of the few natural deep water ports in West and Central Africa and is well-located to serve as a transshipment hub for West Africa. The completed terminal will have an annual handling capacity of the equivalent of 2.2 million twenty foot container units. It will enable shipping lines to deploy the largest container vessels in West and Central Africa. It will also have the capacity to provide economies of scale that significantly lower regional transportation costs.
LCT, a Togolese company formed to execute the project, is held by a 50-50 joint venture between Global Terminal Limited (GTL) and China Merchants Holdings (International) Company Limited (CMHI). The Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world’s second largest container shipping line, has committed to be the anchor customer for the terminal.
Vikram Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of GTL, said “The financing of the Lome Container Terminal is an important milestone in the development of this project. The confidence of the international consortium of financiers sends an important signal about the long-term value of the project and to other investors looking to do more in Africa.”
CMHI managing director Hu Jianhua said, “We are very pleased to continue the development of this key project alongside such an international financing consortium. We anticipate Lome Container Terminal to quickly become a key transshipment hub in West Africa as well as an important import and export channel for Togo and its neighbors.”
Bernie Sheahan, IFC Acting Vice-President for Latin America and Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Western Europe said, “Today infrastructure poses one of the most significant threats to Africa’s continued development, and the Lome Container Terminal is evidence that private investment provides a vital contribution to infrastructure development on the continent.”
The total cost for the project is estimated at €324 million. The project is the largest foreign direct investment by the private sector in Togo.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. IFC invested $ 1.2 billion in infrastructure projects in Africa in fiscal year 2012. LCT will be the first transportation infrastructure investment that IFC has financed in Togo and IFC’s largest port investment in Africa.
www.ifc.org
About AfDB
Created in 1964, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has the mandate to enhance the social and economic well‐being of African countries thus contributing to poverty reduction and improvement of living conditions on the continent. The AfDB group made approvals of almost USD 8.5 billion in 2011 of which infrastructure accounted for over 38 percent. The AfDB approved through its private sector window, up to EUR 60 million to the Lome Container Terminal, its first project in Togo.
www.afdb.org
About DEG
DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, a subsidiary of KfW, is one of the largest European development finance institutions. For 50 years, DEG has been financing and structuring the investments of private companies in developing and emerging market countries. DEG invests in profitable projects that contribute to sustainable development in all sectors of the economy, from agribusiness to infrastructure and manufacturing to services. The financial sector is a further focus in order to facilitate reliable access to investment capital locally. DEG’s aim is to establish and expand private enterprise structures in developing and emerging countries, and thus create the basis for sustainable economic growth and a lasting improvement in the living conditions of the local population.
www.deginvest.de
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About FMO
FMO (the Netherlands Development Finance Company) is the Dutch development bank. FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing and emerging markets by investing in ambitious entrepreneurs. FMO believes a strong private sector leads to economic and social development, empowering people to employ their skills and improve their quality of life. FMO focuses on three sectors that have high development impact: financial institutions, energy, and agribusiness, food & water. With an investment portfolio of EUR 6.2 billion, FMO is one of the largest European bilateral private sector development banks.
www.fmo.nl
About OFID
OFID is the intergovernmental development finance institution established in 1976 by the Member States of OPEC as a collective channel of assistance to the developing countries. OFID works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international donor community to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in all disadvantaged regions of the world. It does this by providing financing to build essential infrastructure, strengthen social services delivery and promote productivity, competitiveness and trade. As of end 2011, the transportation sector, including all sub-sectors, accounted for 21% of total commitments across all financing mechanisms. LCT represents OFID’s first private sector investment in Togo.
www.ofid.org
About PROPARCO
PROPARCO is a Development Finance Institution jointly held by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and public and private shareholders from the North and South. Its mission is to catalyze private investment in emerging and developing countries with the aim of supporting growth, sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). PROPARCO finances investments that are economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and financially profitable. PROPARCO is one of the main bilateral development finance institutions in the world. It invests on four continents encompassing the major emerging countries and the poorest countries, particularly in Africa, and has a high level of requirements in terms of social and environmental responsibility.
www.proparco.fr
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