International Container Terminal Services of the Philippines and American President Lines are to sign a financing agreement during December for the development of a new container port at Karachi. Financial adviser Bank of America says that the project has received all necessary financial commitments and that documents will be signed this month.

Financial sources put the total cost of the project at about $65 million. The German government's private investment arm DEG is expected to provide commitments worth about $9.5 million and Japan's Nissho Iwai Corporation is to provide commitments of about $6.6 million, the sources say. The remaining finance will come from locally-raised debt and equity participation. ANZ Grindlays Pakistan are the arrangers of local cost finance.

The port is to be built on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. It will have an annual capacity of 450,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs). The project will involve the dredging of the harbour, expansion of berths, installation of new cranes and installation of computer equipment (MEED 19:7:96).