Via Brugge and Via-Invest reach financial close on the A11 PPP-project

Steer Davies Gleave is delighted to see this Lenders’ Technical Advisory (LTA) commission come to a successful financial close.

The special purpose company Via A11 N.V., a public-private partnership between the consortium Via Brugge and Via-Invest, has announced that they have reached contract close and financial close for the PPP-project A11 Bruges in Belgium. This is the first example of a Project Bond granted by the European Investment Bank through the EU Project Bond Initiative.

Steer Davies Gleave provided Lenders’ Technical Advisory (LTA) services to the Via Brugge consortium, advising and reporting on technical commercial and environmental issues and risks to Lenders. Steer Davies Gleave reviewed and audited the tender documents and the technical solution as part of the tender response developed by Via Brugge. This included reviewing the approach used for the design, construction and maintenance costs, including the methods used in the preparation of the work; review the draft project contracts and finance document; and generally reviewing and assessing the main technical risks of the Project and any relevant technical issues for the Lenders.

The A11 Bruges project consists of a 13km 2-lane highway which completes the ring from the N31 at Brugge and the N49 at Knokke. It is one of the six major missing links in the Flemish road network and the connection is also of importance to the region because of current congestion and the planned increases in the port of Zeebrugge to the north. The project consists of almost 90 structures including a 1km viaduct, a double Bascule (moving bridge) and two tunnels and it is the largest DBFM road project (Design-Build-Finance-Maintain) up to now in Flanders.