NGE’S FIRST INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

22 October 2019: At 3 pm Uruguayan time yesterday (8 pm French time), NGE and its fellow consortium members SACEEM, SACYR and BERKES finalised a USD 1.1 billion funding package for the PPP project to build the Paso de los Toros-Montevideo rail link.

The contract was signed on 17 May 2019 with the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Ministry of Transport. It forms part of the NGE long-term growth strategy for Latin America, and marks the Group’s entry into MERCOSUR (the South American common market).

AN INTEGRATED 18-YEAR DESIGN & BUILD FINANCE, AND MAINTENANCE CONTRACT PACKAGEFOR 273 KM OF RAILWAY

Alongside its partners, SACYR Conseciones, SACEEM, BERKES and within Grupo Via Central, NGE Concessions has raised close to USD 900 million from a pool of international financial institutions including the Inter-American Development Bank,Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF Development Bank of Latin America) and its CAF-Asset Management fund, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Intesa Sanpaolo S.P.A).

• Sponsors’ Advisors : Astris Finance (financial), Baker & McKenzie and Jimenez deArechaga, Viana & Brause (legal), PwC (fiscal).
• Lenders’ Advisors : Clifford Chance and Ferrere Abogados (legal), Infrata(tecnical), Infrata/ERM (environmental), Willis (insurance), KPMG (model audit). • NGE legal advisor in Uruguay : Hughes & Hughes.

To carry out the construction work, Grupo Via Central has appointed the consortium (CCFC- Consorcio Constructor Ferrocarril Central) of NGE international subsidiaries NGE Contracting and TSO, Sacyr Construction (Spain) and two Uruguayan companies Saceemand Berkes. In addition to building the new rail line in an existing corridor, CCFC will carryout all the earthworks, utilities, civil engineering and track laying over the next three years. For a period of 15 years from infrastructure delivery, ongoing maintenance will be provided by a company set up for this purpose by NGE and its partners.

With this first international rail public private partnership, NGE is proud to have the opportunity to play its part in the development of a strategic, state-of-the-art, sustainable infrastructure that will boost Uruguay’s competitiveness and make a valuable contribution to its economic development.

The largest infrastructure investment in the history of Uruguay, this project is a double win for NGE, combining the raising of private financing through its subsidiary NGE Concessions, and the construction contract for NGE Contracting and TSO. It marks an important strategic step for the Group, positioning it as a leading international player.

NGE EXPORTS ITS “SAVOIR-FAIRE” IN MAJOR PROJECT

Beyond its expertise in financial engineering, NGE also exports its multi-expertise approach internationally. For the Ferrocarril Central project, the Group will deploy the following specialties:

• earthworks
• civil engineering
• special foundation works
• construction of viaducts and hydraulic infrastructures
• rail infrastructure works : 273 km of track ballast
• rail signalling

NGE CONFIRMS 3 DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES:

• an increasing presence in Latin America (Mexico, Panama, Ecuador, etc.)
• a new phase in the international rollout of the multi-expertise approach via NGE Contracting (after having been awarded the Nachtigal hydroelectric plant construction project in Cameroon)
• a major new development for NGE Concessions, following recent successes in highway concessions and FTTH optical fibre infrastructure contracts in France as well as the Futuroscope ARENA project in Poitiers (Vienne Départemen in France) more recently.