Starting news article english 23 September 2011

Clifford Chance advises banks on the financing of the PPP project for the upgrade of the A9 motorway

Clifford Chance advised the banks BBVA and KfW IPEX on thefinancing of a PPP project for the expansion of the A9 motorway. It relates to the operation and maintenance of a 46.5 km section of the A9 motorway located between the Lederhose interchange and the border between Thuringia and Bavaria, as well as widening a 19km stretch to six lanes. It represents a total investment of about EUR 220 million. The work is scheduled to be completed by November 2014.

The PPP project will ensure early commencement of the upgrade which is set to be completed in one single stage. This is the first PPP project for upgrading a motorway using an "availability model". The motorway operator Via Gateway Thüringen GmbH & Co. KG, backed by a French-Dutch consortium, will be paid on the basis of the availability of the stretch and the quality of the construction work. The consortium will advance the funds for the upgrade and obtain refinancing through the said payments received over the term of the PPP project.

The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Dr. Beda Wortmann, and included senior associate Dr. Christof Häfner and associates Antonia Uekermann and Tanja Gropp (all Banking & Capital Markets, Frankfurt).