One of the first significant PPP deals to be awarded to a non-French sponsor, the Autostrade-led Ecomouv consortium closed a Eu704.5 million ($951.4 million) financing for the 13.5-year Eco-tax concession on 20 October.
The financing was delayed because of a legal challenge from Sanef, one of the losing bidders, and eventually featured minimal French bank support. But given the exposure of the French banks to the Eurozone’s woes, and persistent market rumours about their ability to fund project finance debt commitments, foreign bank dominance of the lender line-up proved a strength.
The concession entails the development of an electronic tolling system which tracks the movement of, and then charges a fee to, heavy goods vehicles using satellite technology across 15,000km of France’s road networks. The project will be fully operational in 20 months’ time, after the end of a three-month trial period in Alsace. The French...
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