IFC, HSBC Commit $40 Million to Modernize Port of Colombo

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, and HSBC have jointly committed up to $40 million to modernize and decarbonize operations at the Port of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s leading transshipment hub, through an investment in South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT).

The financing package comprises a sustainability linked loan of up to $20 million from IFC, including $8.57 million mobilized via its Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program (MCPP), and a parallel green loan of up to $20 million from HSBC. The funds will finance twin lift ship to shore cranes to enhance productivity, reliability and energy efficiency at the terminal.

This is IFC’s first sustainability linked infrastructure financing in Sri Lanka and marks its return to the country’s port sector after two decades, having first backed SAGT in 1999 to establish Sri Lanka’s first public private partnership container terminal.

The investment is projected to lift quay side productivity by at least 11 percent, expand capacity for transshipment and domestic cargo, cut carbon emissions and create more roles for women in the maritime sector. Colombo, positioned along major global shipping lanes, handles cargo linked to nearly half of world container traffic and contributes about 2.5 percent to Sri Lanka’s GDP.

SAGT CEO Steen Knudsen called the deal a milestone reinforcing Colombo’s regional standing, while World Bank Group Country Manager Gevorg Sargsyan said the financing shows how innovative capital can accelerate decarbonization. HSBC Sri Lanka’s Amesh Dissanayake said the green loan would help SAGT upgrade equipment while lowering emissions, supporting the country’s broader logistics integration goals.