AIIB funds ICTSI terminal upgrades with $300m loan

It covers a multi-site infrastructure and equipment upgrade programme.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will lend $300m to International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) for the expansion and upgrade of three container terminals in the Philippines—the bank’s first non-sovereign-backed transaction in the country.

In a press release, AIIB said the financing will support upgrades at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), the ongoing South Luzon Container Terminal (SLCT) in Batangas, and the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT).

The upgrades across the three sites include technology-based infrastructure and cover the procurement of electric quay cranes and the replacement of diesel-powered yard equipment.

MICT will increase capacity to 3.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) by 2027, whilst MCT will reach around one million TEU by 2028, and SLCT will reach 800,000 TEU by 2028.

This comes as AIIB President Zou Jiayi and ICTSI Chairman and President Enrique Razon, Jr. signed the agreement during a ceremony in the Philippines.

Zou said the transaction reflects the bank’s approach to infrastructure financing and its work with global operators, whilst Razon said the partnership supports expansion and sustainability initiatives and aligns with long-term value creation and inclusive economic growth.

The investment forms part of wider efforts to expand port capacity and reduce emissions from terminal operations through equipment electrification.