Dubai-based DP World will complete a $139m project finance deal to fund the development of the Dakar port in Senegal by mid-October, according to bankers close to the deal.

The financing will have a tenor of seven years and be used to fund the first stage of developing the port.

UK-based Standard Chartered and the African Development Bank are providing the loans. Standard Chartered is also the arranger on the deal.

The two banks are providing the funds directly after failing to secure commitments from other lenders during the syndication phase. Standard Chartered had been approaching other banks to join the deal since June (MEED 07:07:09).

Standard Chartered has also been mandated by DP World to led a second financing of around $430m to fund the final stage of the Senegal Port’s development. The first phase of the development will involve expanding capacity of the existing port, with phase two compromising the development of a new terminal.

A source close to the deal says that the financing for phase two will be launched in late 2009 or early 2010 with a view to completing it by mid-2010.

The project to develop the port is scheduled for completion in early 2011 and the new facility will have a capacity of 1.5 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

The financing has been arranged on a non-recourse basis, which limits the assets that lenders can seize in the event of a default to the project rather than any other asset held by the project sponsors.