China Merchant Holdings increases stake in Colombo Port

25 Jan 2012 - Port Planning

• China Merchant Holdings acquires Aitken Spence's 30% stake in CICT

Sri Lankan firm, Aitken Spence, has reached an agreement with China Merchant Holdings for the sale of its 30 percent stake in the Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT).

Aitken announced in a statement to the Colombo Stock Exchange that local authorities had approved the sale to the $500 million project’s majority shareholder.

The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed, according to the JOC.

“We are now finalizing the formalities for transfer of our shareholding to China Merchants Holdings,” read the statement.

As a result of the transaction, China Merchant Holdings has increased its stake in the terminal project from 55 percent to 85 percent.

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority controls the remaining 15 percent in CICT.

A 35-year concessional agreement for the CICT project was signed in August last year as part of the planned Colombo South Harbor Hub.

When completed the port, adjacent to the existing Port of Colombo, is expected to have nearly 4,000 feet of quay wall for container berths, a 59-foot draft and an estimated 150 acres of yard space.

On the completion of the first phase of construction in 2014 the South Harbor Hub will offer an estimated annual capacity of 2.4 million TEU.

When the project is fully completed in 2016 the 12-berth facility will boast three terminals, each with a quay length of 3,973 feet.

Bids for the proposed east and west terminals will be invited at a later stage, according to the JOC.