Maritime Infrastructure Finance Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Port authority executives, Transport ministry officials and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-PIF-025

Before you join: Participants should have working familiarity with infrastructure projects, budgets, financial statements or public procurement.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Maritime infrastructure projects demand large, long-lived capital commitments while depending on uncertain trade volumes, shipping cycles, public approvals and complex interfaces between marine works, terminals and hinterland connections. Port authorities, transport ministries and private sponsors must decide which assets should remain publicly funded, which can support user charges, and how risk should be allocated without making projects unaffordable or unbankable. Weak demand assumptions, incomplete land rights, poorly specified dredging obligations and unsuitable concession terms can undermine otherwise necessary investments.

This course examines the financing of ports, terminals, channels, breakwaters, dry ports and related logistics infrastructure. Participants assess project demand, define revenue and cost structures, select PPP and procurement models, build project-finance cash flow assumptions, and evaluate debt capacity. The programme addresses availability-payment and user-pay structures, concession economics, tariff regulation, government support, credit enhancement, lender due diligence and refinancing. It also covers the financial consequences of construction delays, force majeure, environmental obligations, currency exposure and cargo-volume shortfalls.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with worked maritime cases, financial-model reviews, concession-term analysis, lender-credit discussions and team-based decision exercises. Participants apply the methods to realistic port and terminal scenarios, including a container-terminal concession, a public dredging programme and a dry-port investment. Each participant leaves with a maritime PPP screening pack containing a project cash flow structure, risk allocation matrix, bankability checklist, funding-source map and action plan for a current or prospective project.

The course is suited to public-sector infrastructure teams, port and transport authorities, lenders, developers, advisers and corporate logistics investors who contribute to investment decisions, procurement, financing or concession management.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess maritime project demand using throughput, vessel-call and capacity assumptions
  • Select suitable public funding, PPP and concession structures for port assets
  • Build a project-finance cash flow structure using maritime revenue and cost drivers
  • Calculate debt capacity using DSCR, LLCR and downside-case assumptions
  • Allocate construction, demand, dredging and regulatory risks through a risk matrix
  • Evaluate concession terms, tariff mechanisms and government-support obligations
  • Prepare lender-ready bankability questions for maritime infrastructure transactions
  • Develop an implementation plan for a maritime infrastructure financing decision

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Assess whether a port project can support user-pay financing
  • Contribute informed challenge during concession and financing negotiations
  • Interpret lender concerns about maritime demand and construction risk
  • Produce clearer investment submissions for port and logistics assets
  • Transfer PPP finance methods directly to active transport projects

For your organisation

  • Improved screening of financially viable maritime capital projects
  • Better allocation of dredging, demand and regulatory risk
  • More credible financial assumptions in procurement and approval papers
  • Reduced exposure to unaffordable government guarantees and contingent liabilities
  • Stronger engagement with lenders, developers and concession bidders

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define the commercial and public-service case for a maritime infrastructure investment.

  • Port asset maps distinguish marine, terminal, hinterland and digital systems
  • Demand studies test throughput, vessel calls, dwell time, and seasonality
  • Cargo-market segmentation separates containers, bulk, liquid, RoRo, and cruise revenues
  • Port master plans link berth capacity, yard capacity, and access
  • Bottleneck analysis identifies channel, berth, yard, gate, and rail constraints
  • Lifecycle cost profiles capture dredging, renewals, utilities, and asset maintenance
  • Stakeholder maps identify port authority, concessionaire, users, regulators, communities

Participants can assess whether a maritime project is sufficiently prepared for financing or procurement.

  • Pre-feasibility gates test strategic need, technical options, and affordability
  • Traffic forecasts apply base, upside, downside, and stress-case scenarios
  • Willingness-to-pay analysis distinguishes tariff potential from economic benefits
  • Technical due diligence reviews bathymetry, geotechnical conditions, utilities, and interfaces
  • Environmental and social studies identify permitting, resettlement, and biodiversity requirements
  • Land tenure reviews confirm site control, access corridors, and waterfront rights
  • Project preparation schedules sequence studies, approvals, procurement, and financial close

Participants can select financing and delivery structures matched to maritime asset characteristics.

  • Public budget funding suits non-revenue marine and safety infrastructure
  • User-pay concessions match terminal revenues with operating and capital responsibilities
  • Availability-payment PPPs link service performance to public payment commitments
  • Landlord port models separate public marine assets from private terminal operations
  • Joint ventures allocate equity, governance, and development responsibilities among sponsors
  • Development finance institutions provide long-tenor debt, guarantees, and technical assistance
  • PPP screening compares value for money, affordability, and market interest

Participants can structure operating cash flows for a maritime project-finance model.

  • Revenue build-up links cargo volumes, vessel calls, tariffs, and collection rates
  • Tariff schedules distinguish wharfage, berthage, handling, storage, and concession fees
  • Operating cost forecasts separate fixed, variable, dredging, energy, and labour costs
  • Capital expenditure profiles include marine works, equipment, contingency, and interest during construction
  • Working capital assumptions reflect receivables, deposits, inventory, and supplier terms
  • Cash flow waterfalls prioritise operating costs, debt service, reserves, and distributions
  • Sensitivity tables test volume, tariff, capex, exchange-rate, and delay impacts

Participants can evaluate debt capacity, financing terms and lender protections for maritime projects.

  • Debt service coverage ratio measures cash available against scheduled debt service
  • LLCR and PLCR assess loan protection over remaining concession cash flows
  • Debt sizing uses minimum DSCR, tenor, sculpting, and reserve assumptions
  • Sculpted repayment profiles align principal payments with forecast operating cash flows
  • Interest-rate risk management considers fixed rates, swaps, caps, and hedging costs
  • Debt service reserve accounts protect lenders during temporary revenue disruption
  • Financing term sheets specify security, covenants, conditions precedent, and events

Participants can allocate major project risks to the parties best able to manage them.

  • Risk matrices assign ownership, mitigation, compensation, and monitoring responsibilities
  • Construction risk covers design, interface, completion, cost-overrun, and delay exposure
  • Dredging obligations define baseline depth, maintenance standards, disposal, and cost sharing
  • Demand risk allocation reflects captive cargo, competition, tariffs, and shipping cycles
  • Political-risk protections address expropriation, convertibility, transfer restrictions, and breach
  • Government support agreements define guarantees, subsidies, land obligations, and compensation
  • Contingent liability registers quantify fiscal exposure from PPP commitments

Participants can identify concession provisions that affect value, financeability and public accountability.

  • Concession periods match asset life, debt tenor, investment recovery, and renewal cycles
  • Tariff adjustment formulas address inflation, currency movements, and regulatory decisions
  • Minimum performance standards specify berth productivity, turnaround, availability, and safety
  • Change-in-law clauses allocate cost consequences of regulatory or tax changes
  • Termination payment formulas address default, force majeure, and public convenience
  • Step-in rights allow lenders to protect operations after sponsor default
  • FIDIC contract interfaces align construction obligations with concession commitments

Participants can plan a procurement process that attracts credible, financeable maritime bids.

  • Market sounding tests investor appetite, risk concerns, and proposed transaction terms
  • Prequalification criteria assess technical capacity, financial strength, and operating experience
  • Request for proposals defines output specifications, data-room materials, and bid rules
  • Bid evaluation combines technical quality, tariff offers, investment commitments, and fiscal support
  • Financial-model audit checks formulas, assumptions, circularities, and scenario integrity
  • Conditions precedent coordinate permits, land transfer, financing, and corporate approvals
  • Financial close checklists track documents, securities, accounts, and disbursement requirements

Participants can frame lender due diligence questions and assess key maritime credit concerns.

  • Lender due diligence tests sponsor capability, contracts, permits, and model assumptions
  • Independent engineer reports examine design readiness, construction programme, and completion tests
  • Traffic advisers challenge cargo forecasts, competitive ports, and shipping-line commitments
  • Legal due diligence confirms concession validity, security rights, and dispute mechanisms
  • Environmental lenders review IFC Performance Standards and action-plan obligations
  • Credit memoranda present debt rationale, downside cases, mitigants, and approval conditions
  • Post-close monitoring tracks covenants, construction progress, volumes, and reserve accounts

Participants can prioritise next financing actions for a maritime project or investment portfolio.

  • Investment prioritisation ranks projects by readiness, impact, affordability, and financeability
  • Stage-gate plans assign evidence requirements before procurement and financing decisions
  • Funding strategies combine grants, budget, equity, debt, and concessional sources
  • Decision papers present recommendation, assumptions, risk exposure, and approvals required
  • Negotiation priorities identify non-negotiable risks, tradeable terms, and fallback positions
  • Stakeholder engagement plans sequence approvals from ministries, regulators, lenders, and communities
  • Ninety-day action plans assign owners, milestones, dependencies, and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Maritime project finance cash flow template
  2. PPP structure selection matrix
  3. Port concession risk allocation matrix
  4. Lender bankability due diligence checklist
  5. Maritime funding-source map
  6. Ninety-day financing action plan

Who should attend

  • Port authority executives — need defensible funding and concession decisions
  • Transport ministry officials — assess PPP affordability, fiscal exposure and procurement choices
  • Infrastructure finance managers — structure capital plans for port and logistics assets
  • Commercial bank and DFI staff — evaluate maritime project credit risks
  • Terminal developers and operators — test concession economics before bidding
  • Legal, technical and financial advisers — align transaction documents with bankability requirements

Skills and tools covered

Port project appraisalPPP structuringProject finance modellingConcession economicsRisk allocationDebt capacity analysis

Tools and standards

FIDIC Conditions of Contract, IFC Performance Standards, ISO 31000, OECD Principles for Public Governance of Public-Private Partnerships

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short technical briefings followed by maritime case work, financial-model interpretation, group exercises and structured transaction discussions. Participants compare public funding, availability-payment and user-pay concession options for ports and logistics assets. Simulations test how volume shortfalls, delayed commissioning, tariff constraints and dredging costs affect debt service and public support. Facilitated application planning helps participants translate the tools into an investment, procurement or financing decision relevant to their own responsibilities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have working familiarity with infrastructure projects, budgets, financial statements or public procurement. Experience in ports, shipping, logistics, transport, banking, project development or government investment appraisal is useful. Participants should be comfortable interpreting cash flow, operating costs, capital expenditure and basic financial ratios. Prior project-finance modelling experience is helpful but not required; formulas are explained and applied in context. No engineering qualification, advanced mathematics, maritime law specialism or prior PPP transaction experience is required.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants need basic familiarity with infrastructure projects, finance, procurement or transport operations. The course explains project-finance ratios and PPP structures, so prior modelling or transaction experience is not required.

Bring a laptop if possible, along with non-confidential details of a current or planned maritime project. Participants can use these details when preparing their financing action plan.

It is designed for public authorities, port executives, lenders, developers, operators and advisers involved in maritime capital projects. It is particularly useful for professionals who must assess or negotiate funding and concession options.

This course applies project-finance methods to port, terminal, dredging and logistics assets. It addresses maritime-specific issues such as cargo demand, berth capacity, tariff regulation, marine works, concession structures and dredging obligations.

Participants can use the screening matrix, cash flow structure, risk matrix and bankability checklist for investment appraisals, PPP preparation and lender discussions. The final action plan identifies practical next steps for a live project or portfolio.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The programme progresses from project economics and PPP selection through financial modelling, debt, risk allocation, contracts, procurement and action planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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