MPX Eyes $1.9bn Colombia Investment

Brazil’s MPX Energia plans to invest $1.9bn over the next 10 years to develop a port, 3 open-pit coal mines and a 150 km railway in Colombia, CFO Rudoplh Ihns tells LatinFinance. He explains that initially, the company will seek to invest $366m to develop the port and mines. The remainder will be used to develop the railway and logistics. “We are waiting for an environmental license, which we expect to obtain in September and will then begin construction,” he says. The port should be operational in 2013, according to company information. To finance the initial project, MPX will use $17m in equity and seek financing from Colombian and foreign banks, CAF and ECAs. Ihns says the company has not yet selected banks. The company will use some of the cash coming from exporting coal to Brazil from Colombia in addition to financing to build the railway, Ihns adds. Coal production is expected to begin in 2012, hitting 15m tons annually in 2021. MPX is part of Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista’s Grupo EBX.