The International Finance Corporation is providing US$40 million in financing for one of the biggest container terminals in Yangon in a decision aimed at helping to improve the transport sector, IFC said last week.
The financing by the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is for Myanmar Industrial Port, that handles about 40 percent of the country’s container traffic.
The investment, IFC’s first in the transportation sector in Myanmar, will help the company to increase capacity and efficiency at its container terminal in central Yangon, the lender said in a statement on April 18.
“The $40 million in mezzanine financing is the first phase of a $200 million financing package which is expected to include $160 million in long-term senior loans to be provided by IFC and other foreign lenders,” IFC said.
Myanmar Industrial Port, the trading name of Myanma Annwa Swan A Shin Group (S) Co Ltd (MAS), has operated the terminal for more than 12 years.
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IFC said its long-term funding would help the company complete the first phase of a plan to increase the terminal’s annual handling capacity to 500,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).
MIP handled 278,000 TEUs in the fiscal year to March 31, the statement said.
Container volumes are estimated to have risen by 90 percent during the last three years because of rapid growth in imports and exports since political and economic reforms were introduced, IFC said.
It said the financing package for MIP was part of a broader strategy to help Myanmar do business more efficiently and competitively, unlock its potential for increased international trade and support job creation and economic development.
