Astris Finance is delighted to announce the closing, first disbursment and start of construction for the emblematic Puerto Antioquia project, a US $765 million port complex, for which the first stone was laid on April 23 in Uraba, Colombia. Since 2015, Astris has advised PBCU, the project company, as well as its Sponsors, supporting the entire development of the project, coordinating the contractual and financial equity structuring and raising fully non-recourse senior and mezzanine project financing as well as third party equity.
The Sponsor group includes PiO S.A.S., the initial project developer; CI Uniban, CI Tropical, CI Banafrut, Grupo Santamaria, four of the largest tropical fruit cooperatives in the region, who will be port users; CMA CGM, one of the world's leading shipping lines, who will act as port operator; Groupe Eiffage and Termotecnica Coindustrial, who joined forces to act as EPC contractor; and UPLI, an infrastructure fund managed by SURA and Credicorp.
On the financing front, Astris raised a total of USD 523.7 million of project finance debt made up of two tranches:
US $393.7 million of senior debt from IDB Invest, FDN, Davivienda and Bancoldex; and
US $130.0 million of mezzanine debt from Global Infrastructure Partners.
The project consists of a multipurpose port in the Gulf of Uraba, located in the Department of Antioquia, Colombia. The complex will feature a 38-hectare onshore facility connected to an offshore docking platform by a 3.8-km viaduct. In its first phase of construction, it is designed to accommodate an annual throughput of 660,000 TEUs, 1.5 million tons of dry bulk, 1.1 million tons of general cargo, and 60,000 vehicles.
As the first major greenfield port to be built in the Uraba region, Puerto Antioquia is poised to transform the logistics landscape of northern Colombia and enhance the competitiveness of the Colombian industry. The project will also contribute to the economic and social development of the Uraba region by bringing employment and responsible investment, compliant with the highest environmental and social standards.
Operations are scheduled to start in 2025: when Puerto Antioquia opens for business, it will be the port on the Atlantic closest to a perimeter representing 75% of the country's GDP and connected to the region of Medellin by world-class road infrastructure following the completion of the Mar 1 and Mar 2 4G toll road projects.
Astris Finance is proud to have led the structuring of one of our most exciting and challenging transactions in our 22 years of existence so far. It is an honor to participate in a project that is certain to have a lasting economic and social impact on the beautiful region of Uraba. We are very grateful for the active participation of the most important stakeholders in the region: the local communities around the project, the banana farming cooperatives, the municipal governments of Apartado and Turbo, the department of Antioquia, as well as the various central government line ministries and agencies. We wish the project and its stakeholders a very bright future.