MANILA-BASED International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) is teaming up with Singapore’s PSA International Pte. Ltd. (PSA) to develop, construct and operate a container terminal and ancillary facilities in Colombia.
The two global port operators, through their respective wholly-owned subsidiaries, signed an agreement on Sept. 18 to jointly undertake the project on the Aguadulce Peninsula in the Pacific coast city of Buenaventura in Colombia’s Valle del Cauca province.
Buenaventura is the main port of Colombia in the Pacific Ocean and had a population of 333,194 as of the 2005 census, according to Wikipedia.
Under the agreement, PSA will invest in Sociedad Puerto Industrial Aguadulce S.A. (SPIA), an indirect subsidiary of ICTSI, which holds the 30-year concession for the Aguadulce Port Project granted by the Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura of Colombia.
“We are excited about the prospect of working with PSA to develop a terminal that we know will be key to Colombia’s trade growth,” said Enrique K. Razon Jr., ICTSI chairman and president, in a press statement.
“PSA and ICTSI share the same aspirations for the Aguadulce Port, and the opportunity to bring this shared goal to fruition presented itself. We are confident and look forward to the success of this important collaboration,” Razon said.
Tan Chong Meng, PSA Group CEO, welcomed the deal with ICTSI.
“We are delighted to partner with ICTSI and co-invest in the Aguadulce Port Project. ICTSI and PSA will bring our complementary strengths to ensure this greenfield terminal supports the growing demand for trade and logistics in Colombia, amidst the improving business environment in the region,” Tan said.
Under the terms of the deal, ICTSI’s wholly-owned subsidiaries, Kinston Enterprises Corp. and Future Water S.A., agree to the purchase by PSA Colombia Pacific Pte. Ltd. of SPIA shares representing 45.64% of SPIA’s issued and outstanding share capital, “subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent to completion”.
PSA Colombia Pacific is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PSA.
Upon completion of the agreement, ICTSI and PSA, through their respective subsidiaries, will jointly own 91.28% of the issued and outstanding share capital of SPIA. ICTSI and PSA will thereafter work jointly towards the success of the Aguadulce Port Project.
ICTSI is a leading port management company involved in the operation and development of marine terminals and port projects worldwide.
PSA is one of the leading global port groups with port projects across Asia, Europe and the Americas and flagship operations in Singapore and Antwerp.
ICTSI’s flagship terminal, the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), achieved recently its 25-millionth TEU mark since its privatization in 1989.
Headquartered in Manila, ICTSI is a leading port management company involved in the operations and development of 27 marine terminals and port projects in 19 countries worldwide.
