Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises Rotterdam World Gateway consortium on the development and construction of the Tweede Maasvlakte container terminal

The international law firm Clifford Chance advised the consortium Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) on the development and construction of the new container terminal at the "Tweede Maasvlakte" of the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Besides Dubai Ports World the sponsors behind RWG are four container shipping companies: Neptune Orient Lines, Mitsui OSK Lines, Hyundai Merchant Marine and CMA CGM. The financing banks are: ABN Amro, BTMU, KfW Ipex, Mizuho, ​​NIBC, SMBC and West LB. The credit facility has a term of twenty years and a total volume of € 360 million.

The container terminal will be realised as part of the Rotterdam port facilities currently under construction and is expected to be operational mid-2014. Clifford Chance advised RWG on the development and construction of the container terminal in the broadest sense of the word, not only in relation to the various construction contracts, procurement contracts and software licenses, but also on the environmental permits necessary for the construction of the terminal. Clifford Chance worked closely with the advisers from the banks to integrate the project financing structure into the various contracts.

Liesbeth Buiter, associate at Clifford Chance, comments: "We are truly excited to have been able to support RWG on this transaction. The successful closing of this project shows the strength of RWG's business case. As a legal advisor we have helped RWG to build the contractual framework of the project as strong as possible, as this is an important aspect for the financiers. The situation of today's financial markets leads to getting a deal closed being much more demanding than before. However, based on Clifford Chance's global experience in structuring these type of projects we are aware of the issues that are most important and are able to provide solutions that give financiers confidence."

The Clifford Chance team that advised RWG consists of: Jaap Koster (Partner), Liesbeth Buiter (Associate), Jaap Tempelman (Associate)  and Willem-Jan Wieland (Associate).