Astris Finance has announced closing, first disbursement and the start of construction for the emblematic Puerto Antioquia project in Colombia.

Astris acted as a financial adviser to the concessionaire of the USD765 million Puerto Antioquia port complex project. The Sponsor group includes PiO S.A.S., Grupo Santamaria, CMA CGM, Groupe Eiffage, Termotecnica Coindustrial and UPLI. Sponsors raised a total of USD523.7 million of project finance debt made up of two tranches:

• USD393.7 million of senior debt from IDB Invest, FDN, Davivienda, and Bancoldex;

• USD130.0 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. The complex will feature a 38-hectare onshore facility connected to an offshore docking platform by a 3.8-km viaduct. In the first phase of construction, the port 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.