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Astaldi has announced that the financing contract has been signed for the start of the first phase of the concession to build and subsequently operate the Gebze-Izmir motorway in Turkey. The initiative involves an investment of US$ 6.5 billion, US$ 2.8 billion of which for this first financed phase.

In September 20th, 2010, the Otoyol Yat?r?m ve ??letme A.Åž. SPV was officially established to implement the project. The consortium members own between 15 and 18 % of the shares. Those are five Turkish construction companies and Astaldi: Nurol ?n?aat, Makyol ?n?aat, Yüksel, Özalt?n ?n?aat, Göçay ?n?aat and Astaldi.

Bank Intesa, Citi Bank and Akbank had been mandated as the financial advisors for the project financing back in 2010.

Although the ground breaking ceremony took place on 28 October 2010, the consortium had many difficulties to close financing for this MegaProject. Almost three years later, the consortium now can move ahead and deliver the project without their own capital resources.

The project

The project calls for building, under the BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) formula, a new motorway section and its links, for a total of 421 kilometres, to be completed in 7 years. The project will be done in separate route sections, and will also include a bridge over Izmit Bay, which will be one of the world's longest suspension bridges. The new motorway will guarantee the link between Gebze (near Istanbul) and the city of Izmir (on the Aegean coast), halving the car travel time for the section, which currently exceeds eight hours.

The route section being financed regards the first 53 kilometres of the project, which includes the bridge and is to be done in 3.5 years. The EPC Contract is valued at US$ 2.3 billion.

The concession has a duration of 22 years and 4 months, with revenues from tolls totalling US$ 24 billion - US$ 11 billion of which for the first financed phase, or US$ 570 million per year, which will start operations upon completion.

Source: Astaldi