ICICI Leads Syndication for Delhi Airport

Delhi International Airport has mandated ICICI Bank for the first offshore long-term financing deal from India's airport sector.
The company is seeking to raise $200 million through a 13-year project finance loan at 1.85% over Libor. The funds are being raised as part of a $1.25 billion project to modernise and develop the Indira Gandhi International Airport in India's capital city. Debt worth $900 million has already been raised domestically.
With an expected life of 9.3 years, the loan is structured as a typical project finance loan and is currently being syndicated. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank has reportedly already committed $15 million.
There are no direct Asian airport project financing comparables available for this deal, although Turkey has a large number of projects in the airport sector financed with similar maturities.
The deal follows the Indian government's recent airport privatisation programme, which early last year led to the modernisation of Delhi Airport being awarded to a consortium led by India's GMR Group (and including Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide and Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad).
11/01/08 Rosie Slater/BusinessWeek

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Categories: Airports Jan 2008