The International Finance Corporation and HSBC will provide up to $40m to South Asia Gateway Terminals for equipment upgrades and emissions reduction at its facility in Sri Lanka’s Port of Colombo, according to IFC.
The financing comprises an IFC sustainability-linked loan of up to $20m, including as much as $8.57m mobilised through its Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program, and a parallel HSBC green loan of up to $20m.
The funds will support two twin-lift ship-to-shore cranes intended to improve reliability, reduce energy consumption and increase quayside productivity by at least 11%.
The investment may also finance 30 electric prime movers and charging infrastructure, subject to SAGT’s operational and commercial requirements. SAGT operates 10 ship-to-shore cranes, four of which have reached the end of their useful lives. The project is also expected to create jobs and expand employment opportunities for women in the port sector.
“This milestone underscores our commitment to pioneering sustainable growth and setting a new benchmark for the industry,” SAGT chief executive Steen Knudsen said. The deal is IFC’s first sustainability-linked financing for an infrastructure company in Sri Lanka and marks its return to the country’s port sector after about two decades.
IFC was among SAGT’s original financiers when the terminal began operations in 1999. SAGT is Sri Lanka’s first public-private partnership container terminal operator. It handled 1.8m TEU in the 2024-25 financial year, compared with an original design capacity of 1.1m TEU. Its shareholders include Sri Lankan conglomerate John Keells Holdings, APM Terminals, the terminal operating business within Maersk, the state-owned Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine Corporation.