Slovakia’s R1 Expressway PPP reached financial close on August 27, 2009. A total of 12 banks participated in this landmark transport deal.
The project involves the construction of a 52km 2×2 lane motorway, which will connect the towns of Nitra and Tekovské Nemce, whilst bypassing the city of Banská Bystrica, to the east of Bratislava. The concession comprises a design, build, finance and operations contract for 30-years.
The lenders involved in this transaction include:
BNP Paribas
|
BayernLB
|
BBVA
|
Calyon
|
Dexia
|
EBRD
|
Erste Bank
|
ING
|
KfW
|
Natixis
|
NIBC
|
Société Générale
|
Unicredit also participated and provided a VAT facility of €32m.
The banks are set to provide a 25-year, €1bn loan for the project, which ended up being over 15% oversubscribed.
Operis audited the financial model, which included tax and accounting advice, for the Vinci/Meridiam winning consortium.