South Africa-listed shipping and logistics group Grindrod is looking to tap the international debt market for a US$800mn loan to finance the Maputo Coal Terminal (TCM) expansion project in Mozambique.

Standard Chartered is acting as the sole financial advisor on the project, which will increase the capacity of the port’s coal terminal from an existing output level of 6 million tonnes a year to 20 million over six years.

Grindrod is expected to enter the market in the second half of this year, Standard Chartered tells GTR.

The debt funding is expected to include a mixture of development finance institutions and commercial banks, with possible support from export credit agencies and political risk insurance providers.

KS Sujay, Standard Chartered’s client solutions director, says: “Mozambique plays an important role in Standard Chartered’s strategy across Africa, and presents numerous opportunities where the bank can leverage its international expertise to support sustainable development. This emerging economy is set to become Africa’s second largest coal exporter, after South Africa in 2012. The successful expansion of this terminal is integral to the country’s economic sustainability and growth.”