Financial close of the first PPP road concession project in the Slovak Republic

Legal advisors: Pontes firms (ARS IURIS Slovakia and JSK) – legal advisors of club of banks providing €1.1billion loan to build R1 Motorway

Linklaters – legal advisor to GRANVIA (Concessionaire) Vinci Concessions and Meridiam Infrastructure Fund

CMS Cameron McKenna – legal advisor to the Slovak Republic

Group of commercial banks and EBRD are bringing private finance to the modernisation of the transport system in the Slovak Republic with a loan for the construction of the R1 motorway, part of the east-west national corridor.

R1 is an important transport link in the south-west of the Slovak Republic and the first project in the country to be implemented under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme and at the same time it is the first project in the CEE region which since the beginning of the financial crises re opens PPP market in the Central Europe.

“We consider the financial closing of the R1 to be a success for the Slovak Republic, as well as for all partners who took part in this transaction. Despite the current adverse conditions on the international financial markets, we have achieved a common objective that will set an example for other PPP projects in Slovakia," said Slovak Transport Minister Ľubomír Vážny.

“This project is an important step for modernisation of the Slovak transport infrastructure with the participation of the private sector. The successful closing of the transaction in the current economic downturn and liquidity crisis provides a strong market signal that well structured PPP projects remain a viable alternative for developing public infrastructure even under adverse market conditions”, said EBRD First-Vice President Varel Freeman.

The total cost of the project is approximately €1.3 billion. The EBRD a group of commercial banks are providing €1.1 billion loan to Granvia, a special purpose vehicle created to finance the construction of the R1 Motorway, and owned by Vinci Concessions and Meridiam Infrastructure Fund.