John Laing Group plc (John Laing) has successfully completed a refinancing of the A6 road project in the Netherlands.

With this refinancing, the Project has partially replaced its existing debt facilities with new debt facilities. The new debt facilities have been secured on more beneficial terms to its shareholders and Rijkswaterstaat reflecting debt market developments in recent years and the de-risking of the project since the start of the operational phase in late 2019.

The refinancing consisted of the Dutch bank Nederlandse Waterschapsbank (NWB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) providing EUR 160 million (USD193 million) of senior debt maturing in 2039. The EIB was part of the lending consortium in 2017 and has remained on the deal.  Rebel Finance & Transactions B.V. advised Parkway6 on the refinancing.

The Project was officially the first energy-neutral highway in the Netherlands, with a dedicated solar panel field that generates enough energy to operate all the traffic systems and road lighting across the road. 

The Project is designed to help reduce congestion and provide a safe and reliable transport option for the many daily commuters between Almere, the fastest growing large city in the Netherlands, and the larger Amsterdam region.  The local community has been at the heart of the Project with careful consideration of the impact of the road on the communities living in close proximity. For example, the old road was lowered with 6 meters and new silent asphalt was applied to minimise noise pollution.