Sparkle Port arm to get $11.5 million IFC loan

International Finance Corporation (IFC) is to provide a loan of $11.5 million to Sparkle Port Services Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Hyderabad-based Ocean Sparkle Ltd.

The World Bank arm is looking to provide the loan with a total tenor of 12 years.

Gets Contract

Sparkle Port, which provides port management services, has been awarded a 17-year contract by Petronet LNG Ltd to provide services at Petronet's upcoming LNG terminal at Kochi.

Petronet is currently operating an LNG plant at Dahej in western India.

Ocean Sparkle has been providing port management services at the Dahej terminal since 2004 through its group company Sealion Sparkle.

As part of its contract with Petronet, Sparkle Port will purchase and deploy four tugboats and one marine craft at Kochi, for a total cost of $31.5 million.

The project will ensure direct employment to 56 people, IFC has said.

Overseas investors

The company's parent, Ocean Sparkle, is backed by investors such as Eredene Capital Plc, a London-based company that is also involved in the development of a container terminal at Ennore port.

It provides port management services such as harbour towage, mooring, pilotage, ship-to-ship transfer of cargo and control tower operations.

Its principal sponsors are four first generation entrepreneurs — Mr P. Jairaj Kumar, Mr Sanjeev Dhawan, Mr A.K. Sawhney and Mr R. Virender Prasad.

Other shareholders in Ocean Sparkle include IFC, SUUTI, Park Equity Holdings Ltd, Infrastructure India Holding Fund LLC, West Coast Ports Ltd and non-resident Indians.

Ocean Sparkle was incorporated in 1995 and it, along with its joint venture companies, has a total fleet of 81 vessels operating in 22 locations in India, according to IFC.