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Forward thinking

24 September 2009

The I-595 financing was the first PPP to close in Florida, and took place against a difficult market background. It also contained many of the measures that will be needed to close deals in the current climate. By Betty Cerini, partner, and Amanda England, associate, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP.

On 3 March 2009, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and I 595 Express, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACS Infrastructure Development (ACS), signed a 35-year concession agreement to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the I-595 corridor roadway improvements project in Broward County, Florida. ACS, which also reached financial close on this date, obtained commitments of roughly $781 million in senior secured debt, in two tranches, from twelve mandated lead arrangers and senior lenders, $655 million in subordinated secured debt from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) under the terms of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998 (TIFIA) and $208 million in equity from ACS.

The I-595 project

The project is comprised of a 13-mile (21km) stretch of highway (10.5 miles on I-595 and 2.5 miles on Florida's Turnpike), and consists of the reconstruction, widening and resurfacing of the I-595 mainline as well as improvements to...


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