Blankenburg tunnel nears close on tightly priced debt
Sponsors of the €800 million ($934 million) Blankenburg tunnel PPP in the Netherlands – Macquarie (70%), Ballast and DEME (15% each) – are expected to reach financial close this month on the funding backing the project.
The scheme comprises construction of a 4.2km tunnel connecting the A20 motorway west of Vlaardingen to the A15 east of Rozenburg. It includes construction of a 900 metre waterway tunnel and a 500 metre land tunnel. The project, which is part of the masterplan Rotterdam Vooruit to develop the Rotterdam region between 2020 and 2040, also involves widening the A20 between the A24 and the Kethelplein junction.
Lenders on the deal include EIB, KBC, KfW IPEX, Korea Development Bank, MEAG, Natixis, Samsung Life, and SMBC. Macquarie is financial adviser with Norton Rose Fulbright as sponsor legal counsel. Pricing is said to be just above 100bp over Euribor.
Last summer, the losing bidder - BBV24 which included VolkerWessels, BAM, Boskalis, Credit Agricole (financial adviser) and Nauta Dutilh (legal adviser) - lodged an appeal claiming that the tender award criteria had not been correctly applied, but it was rejected.
