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The De Groene Boog (Green Bow) consortium, comprised of Besix, Dura Vermeer, Van Oord, John Laing, Rebel and TBI (Mobilis, CroonWolter&Dros), has successfully concluded the financing agreement for the A16 Rotterdam PPP project. The total project costs amount to approximately EUR870 million (US$1.03 billion).

The project involves the construction of a new motorway along the northeast periphery of Rotterdam, the second-largest city in the Netherlands, home to the largest port in Europe. The consortium will design, build and finance the motorway, then manage and maintain it for 20 years.

The A16 will link to the N471, Ankie Verbeek-Ohrlaan and Terbregseplein, cutting through Lage Bergse Bos, where a semi-immersed tunnel will be constructed. It is intended to reduce congestion on the motorways that currently serve the city, the A13 motorway and the A20.

BNG Bank has disclosed that it has provided EUR67 million (US$79.1 million) to the project. It is also the loan and security agent of the project.

The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, Rijkswaterstaat, launched the tender for the project in December 2016. Five consortia were pre-qualified, and three shortlisted following bid submission in June 2017. De Groene Boog's competition included teams led by BAM PPP PGGM and Sacyr Concessions.

The contract was awarded in March 2018 and signed in May.

The 11km motorway is scheduled to be open for traffic at the end of 2023.

The consortium's plans take particularly concern for the environment. Noise pollution will be averted by using extra noise-reducing asphalt on the A16 road surface as well as noise barriers and earth embankments. The road will be incorporated into the landscape as effectively as possible and will be energy-neutral for 20 years.

Furthermore, the consortium will re-landscape adjoining areas, such as Terbregseveld, Vlinderstrik and Lage Bergse Bos, and construct new cycling and walking paths.

This financial close follows that of another major road PPP in the Netherlands. The EUR550 million (US$649.4 million) Afsluitdijk causeway PPP project crossed the milestone last week, securing senior debt from the European Investment Bank (EIB), Belfius Bank NV/SA, Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A., DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale, KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg.