- The 35-kilometre toll road concession is for 50 years.
- This is Cintra’s fifth managed lanes project in the US.
- Ferrovial Agroman will handle the construction, ending in 2022.
Ferrovial, through its subsidiary Cintra Infraestructuras, has achieved financial close for the Interstate 66 concession in Virginia, an investment estimated at 3.550 billion dollars (around 3 billion euros). Financial close comes after the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) selected the bid presented by the Cintra-Meridiam consortium in November 2016.
To cover the investment, on November 2, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Citibank acting as lead arranger, priced 737 million dollars in private activity bonds (PAB), paying a 3.92% return. Of that, 31 million dollars mature 2047, 131 million in 2049, 222 million in 2052, and 353 million in 2056. The issue was more than 4.9 times oversubscribed.
Additionally, a TIFIA loan amounting to 1.229 billion dollars, maturing in 2057, was closed on November, 7. The total debt (PABs and TIFIA) was assigned a BBB- rating by Fitch Ratings and Baa3 by Moody’s.
New managed lanes in the US
Cintra will lead the development of this project, while Ferrovial Agroman US and local construction company Allan Myers will handle the design and construction.
The contract involves building new lanes along a 35-kilometre stretch of the I-66, between Route 29, near Gainesville, and the I-495, the Capital beltway, in Fairfax County. Construction will be completed in 2022. The concession term is 50 years.
With three upgraded general purpose lanes and two managed lanes in each direction, this project will expand the capacity of the I-66, as well as improving mobility providing a reliable travel time through the corridor and enhancing road safety. It also includes improved on- and off- ramps, refurbished park-and-ride lots and new ones connecting directly to the managed lanes.
Ferrovial is one of the world’s leading private sector developers of transportation infrastructure in terms of the number of projects and the volume of investment. It currently manages over 1,920 kilometers of toll roads in 27 concessions in Canada, the US, Europe, Australia and Colombia. Ferrovial is the largest shareholder in the 407 ETR concessionaire, in Ontario, Canada, with a stake of 43.23%.
