The Port of Corpus Christi has raised USD 216.2 million from the sale of Senior Lien Revenue Bonds, which will be used to finance the deepening and widening of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel.
Currently at a depth of 45 feet, the channel will be dredged to 54 feet to accommodate Suezmax and larger vessels, and widened to 530 feet to allow for two-way traffic flows. The USD 335 million dredging project is set to start later this year. Once the project is completed, the port will able to play a larger role in the development of LNG exports from the U.S.
The port plans also to use a portion of the net proceeds to bankroll upcoming capital projects, which will include investments in new terminals in the Gulf of Mexico and rail infrastructure.
“This round of funding will help the Port of Corpus Christi further progress our ambitious yet achievable capital investment program designed to increase exports of US produced energy to our allies and trading partners around the world,” Sean Strawbridge, CEO of the Port of Corpus Christi, said.
The port’s Senior Lien Revenue Bond 2018 Series pricing follows strong ratings reiterations received from Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings. Moody’s assigned an A1 Rating to the port’s newly issued debt, while upgrading the port’s existing debt from A1 to Aa3. S&P assigned a rating of A+ to the port’s newly issued debt, while reaffirming the same rating for the existing debt.
The Port of Corpus Christi had a record-breaking first half of the year moving 52.2 million tons of products between January 1 and June 30, 2018.