Financial close was reached on the E18 Koskenkylä–Kotka Motorway Extension project in Finland on 8 December 2011. The winning SPV, Tieyhtiö Valtatie 7 Oy, comprises infrastructure investors Meridiam Infrastructure, YIT, Destia and the Finnish pension fund Ilmarinen.
The project has a capital value of over EUR 300m and involves the construction of new motorway sections, bridges and a tunnel, in addition to upgrading several current sections of motorway. Construction works have already started, with the majority of works scheduled to be completed by September 2014. The consortium will then maintain this section of the E18 for 12 years.
The project is financed by loans from the European Investment Bank, the Nordic Investment Bank and Finland’s Pohjola Bank.
Operis was appointed by PwC and the lenders to provide financial model auditing services that included a tax and accounting review.
