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A consortium composed of Cintra, Macquarie and Porr has emerged as preferred bidder for the D4 - R7 expressways public private partnership (PPP) project in Slovakia.

In late November we reported that best and final offers (BAFO) were submitted for the project. Previously, in June 2015, a total of four teams had been shortlisted for the project.

The wining consortium, through a bid for an annual payment of €56.72 million (US$61.6 million), beat out competition from:

• Meridiam and Vinci (advised by HSBC). The team bid for an annual payment of  €69.01 million,
• Hochtief, Iridium, ACS, and DIF (advised by SocGen). The team bid for an annual payment of  €76.78 million; and 
• Strabag, John Laing, and Reding (advised by MUFG). The team bid for an annual payment of  €91.04 million. 

The 30-year road project will involve the construction, maintenance and operation of 27 km of the D4 highway, the southern section of the Bratislava ring road and 32 km of the R7 expressway, part of the network linking the west and east of Slovakia.

The concession contract has a value estimated at €1.7 billion (US$1.85 billion). The total project investment is estimated at €1.4 billion (US$1.52 billion) and the EBRD is considering providing a €150 million (US$163 million) loan to finance the development of the 59 km road.

A consortium composed of PwC, White & Case and the Obermeyer Corporate Group is advising the government on the PPP project.

The new road will be Slovakia's second-ever PPP project. The first PPP project awarded was the R1 Expressway project between Nitra and Banská Bystrica. A consortium of Vinci Concessions and Meridiam Infrastructure is the sponsor of the project.