Cintra enters US market with a toll road contract in Chicago

A 99-year lease agreement to operate the 12.5-km Chicago Skyway The project will involve an investment of 1.82 billion dollars (1.47 billion euros). Cintra has a 55% stake in the winning consortium, while the rest is owned by Australian group Macquarie. With this project, Cintra now has 17 toll road concessions in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Chile, Canada and the US. It also operates over 200,000 parking spaces. Cintra, Ferrovials toll-road and car-park concession company, has been selected to operate the Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge System. Signature of the lease agreement is subject to the City of Chicagos final approval and the deal must be closed within 90 days of the signature. The project will involve an investment of 1.82 billion dollars (1.47 billion euros). The return on capital considered for this project is slightly over 10%. Cintra has a 55% stake in the winning consortium, while the remaining 45% is owned by Australian group Macquarie. The deal will be financed by the concession company with equity and debt. The partners are expected to inject 898.6 million dollars (726.0 million euros) into the concession company in proportion to their stake: Cintra will contribute 494.2 million dollars (399.3 million euros) out of equity (including the proceeds from Cintras IPO). No further capital increases are expected at Cintra and Cintra is not expected to assume further debt. The rest will be financed by the concession company with debt. The concession companys financing is expected to comply with Cintras policy of using project finance (without recourse to shareholders) in local currency (US dollars). According to Juan Béjar, Cintras CEO, the transaction is fully coherent with Cintras strategic objectives for business expansion. It is a significant investment in a long-term agreement (99 years) in which we own a controlling stake, in a country with a stable political and economic policy. The US: a strategic market This agreement means that Cintra will enter the USa strategic market in Cintras expansion planswhere it is currently competing for another concession in Texas (Trans Texas Corridor). Cintra is already present in North America, specifically Canada, where it obtained a 99-year contract six years ago to operate the 407 ETR (Express Toll Route) in Toronto which, with an investment of 2.400 billion euros, is Canadas largest-ever privatisation and the largest investment in a foreign toll road headed by a Spanish group. A 99-year lease agreement The Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge System deal comprises the upkeep and operation of a 7.8-mile (12.5 km) elevated roadway. Opened to traffic in 1959, the toll road has three lanes each way (a total of six), with 37% of elevated roadway, including the 750-metre bridge over the Calumet river. The Skyway links the Dan Ryan Expressway (southern access to Chicago) with the Indiana Toll Road (access to Indiana, Michigan and the north-eastern states). 50,000 vehicles per day With 9 million inhabitants, Chicago is the USs third most populous metropolitan area. The Skyway registered 47,700 vehicles per day in 2003 (significantly higher on weekends). Excluding 2002 and 2003, when the road was being improved and some lanes were closed, there was 8.8% accumulated growth in traffic between 1993 and 2001. Revenues performed similarly: 9.3% accumulated growth between 1993 and 2001. In 2003, revenues amounted to 39.7 million dollars (32.08 million euros) and EBITDA to 28.2 million euros (an EBITDA margin of 71%). Traffic performance The lease agreement envisages the following toll increases: . Tolls for passenger autos are limited to no more than: - 2.5 dollars until 2008 - 3 dollars until 2011 - 4 dollars until 2015 - 4.5 dollars until 2017 - 5 dollars starting in 2017, with later adjustments equal to the greater of 2%, the increase in CPI, or the increase in nominal GDP per capita. . Limits on commercial vehicles are comparable to passenger autos except that the agreement allows a further 40% increase in daytime commercial tolls if the operator has a programme in place for granting a reduction equal to that amount for commercial vehicles between the hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. Cintra, one of the worlds largest private-sector transport infrastructure developers Cintra bids for and manages toll roads in Spain and other countries, and it is one of the worlds largest private-sector road infrastructure developers, with over 1,500 million euros of committed investment in concession companies. With the new contract, Cintra will now manage 17 toll road concessions (over 1,600 kilometres) in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Chile, the US and Canada. It has a 99-year concession for the 407 ETR (Express Toll Route) in Toronto which, with an overall investment of 2,400 million euros, is Canadas largest-ever privatisation and the largest investment in a foreign toll road headed by a Spanish group. Cintra manages over 200,000 parking spaces in 124 cities in Spain, Andorra and Puerto Rico. It operates in all segments of this industry: off-street car park development and operation; parking meters and on-street car park management; and development and sale of private car parks, as well as the provision of a number of additional services, such as supply and maintenance of control equipment. (This document is not an offering of securities or a solicitation for the acquisition of securities in the United States. The shares of Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A. (Cintra) cannot be offered or sold in the United States or for, or on behalf of, or for the benefit of United States persons (as defined in Rule S under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended), unless those shares are registered in accordance with the US Securities Act of 1933 or are exempt from registration. The shares have not been and will not be registered in accordance with the US Securities Act of 1933. Neither this document nor any copy of it may be taken or transmitted to the United States, Canada or Japan nor may it be distributed, directly or indirectly, in the United States, Canada or Japan or to a resident in any of those countries).