Stibbe advises Veenix consortium
Stibbe advised the VEENIX consortium on reaching financial close in the PPP Project A9 Badhoevedorp-Holendrecht. Financial Close occurred on 2 December 2019. The VEENIX consortium is led by Macquarie Capital and supported by Siemens and project delivery firm Count & Cooper. VEENIX is also supported by FCC Construcción as contractor.
This milestone secures financing for the project, which consists of the design, build, finance and maintenance of the project for 14 years under a design, build, finance and maintain (DBFM) contract. The project has a total nominal value of approximately €850 million, which makes it the largest DBFM/PPP project put out to tender in the Netherlands in 2019.
On 9 September 2019, Minister van Nieuwenhuizen (Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management) gave the official go-ahead to expand the existing A9 road near Amstelveen from three to four lanes in each direction. The project also involves the construction of a so called 'sunken highway' with three roof structures, the expansion of the Schiphol Bridge and 14 km of noise pollution barriers. Once complete the road will improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and improve accessibility in the greater Amsterdam area. The A9 is the final project of the Schiphol-Amsterdam-Almere corridor (SAA).
Macquarie Capital also acted as the sole financial advisor and debt arranger to the consortium. The total senior funding requirement for the project is around €1 billion, which will be provided by seven international lenders (Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, DZ Bank, KfW Ipex-Bank, MEAG Munich Ergo, NWB and SMBC). The European Investment Bank also provided 50 per cent of the term loan, totalling c. €340 million, which is backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).
For more information, please refer to the press releases of Macquarie and EIB.
