KfW IPEX-Bank finances Blankenburg Tunnel PPP project in the Netherlands

KfW IPEX-Bank is providing financing as part of a lending group for the Blankenburg Tunnel PPP project in the Netherlands. In providing approx. EUR 75 million towards the project, which has a total financing need of EUR 900 million, KfW IPEX-Bank is focusing on one of its core businesses, namely the expansion and maintenance of the social and economic infrastructure in Germany and Europe. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is also participating in the transaction.

The project encompasses the construction of 4 km of the A24 motorway including a roughly 1-km-long immersed tunnel and an approx. 0.5-km-long land tunnel. The new section will connect the A15 and A20 motorways, thus enabling easier access to the wider Rotterdam region. In past years KfW IPEX-Bank has been involved in financing numerous European PPP projects; in this way, the bank contributes to infrastructure expansion in the common European interest. Most recently it successfully supported the Dutch projects Afsluitdijk (a dam project) and the A16 motorway.

"For us the Blankenburg Tunnel is another success story when it comes to public procurement that involves the private sector (PPP)," said Andreas Ufer, member of the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank and responsible for the transport sector. "Public-private partnerships have already proven their effectiveness in the Netherlands and Europe and offer great potential: Cooperation with highly qualified and experienced companies coupled with the provision of private capital makes it possible for public infrastructure projects to be carried out quickly, efficiently and economically."

The PPP project between the Dutch waterways authority Rijkswaterstaat and the Sponsors not only provides for the tunnel to be built and financed, it also includes its maintenance for 20 years. The Sponsors group comprises Ballast Nedam, DEME and Macquarie. Construction will be realized by a consortium consisting of Ballast Nedam Infra BV, DIMCO and Dredging International, the latter both part of the DEME Group.