| The
first 300m of container terminal
5 will be completed in April
and the remaining half by September,
says Westports executive director
CONSTRUCTION
of Westports' new 600m berth
is on track and it will be fully
operational by September, said
Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd executive
director Ruben Emir Gnanalingam.
Wesports, which
launched a RM800 million expansion
plan last year, will spend RM460
million for the first phase
of the plan scheduled for completion
by year-end.
"The first
300m of CT5 (container terminal
5) will be completed in April
and the remaining half by September,"
Ruben told reporters in Kuala
Lumpur yesterday.
The CT5 project
will make space for two additional
berths, which will increase
annual handling capacity to
eight million standard containers
from the current six million.
Westports has
a 15-year plan of building up
to another 2,400m from CT6 to
CT9 and upon completion, the
total length will be 5,600m
with a capacity of 12 million
TEUs (20-foot equivalent unit).
Ruben yesterday
signed an agreement to appoint
OSK Investment Bank Bhd as Westports'
principal adviser and lead arranger
to arrange and manage on its
behalf the issuance of up to
RM800 million sukuk musyarakah
medium-term notes programme.
The purpose
of the programme is, among others,
to refinance Westports' existing
bank borrowings, the financing
of the construction of new container
terminals and the acquisition
of machinery and equipment.
The tenure
of the sukuk programme is 15
years from the issuance date,
while each issuance will be
more than one year and up to
10 years.
The sukuk has
been assigned a final rating
of "AA+" by Malaysian
Rating Corporation Bhd, indicating
Westports' strong ability to
repay principal and pay interest
on a timely basis.
Ruben said
for the first phase, about RM300
million will be spent on the
purchase of equipment to expand
the wharf and yard.
He also said that Westports
expects to surpass the RM1 billion
mark in terms of revenue next
year.
Also present
were Westports executive chairman
Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam, OSK
Holdings Bhd chairman Datuk
Nik Mohamed Din Nik Yusoff and
managing director Ong Leong
Huat.
By
Roziana Hamsawi
The NST, 22.02.2008
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