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The concession company PANSUEVIA GmbH & Co. KG, along with its 50:50 joint venture partners HOCHTIEF and STRABAG, has achieved the refinancing of the A8 A-Modell.

The refinancing replaces the original financing from May 2011 for the public-private partnership (PPP) motorway widening project between Ulm and Augsburg. The financial close took place on 20 June 2016 with the banks KfW Ipex-Bank, Nord LB, SEB and Société Générale, the institutional investors MEAG and LBPAM (La Banque Postale Asset Management) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

EIB will not only stay on board as creditor but has also made use for the first time of its new financing instrument, Senior Debt Credit Enhancement (SDCE). As a subordinated debt instrument, SDCE is designed to improve the risk position of the preferential creditors. The aim is to implement an important goal of the European Community, namely, to provide easier access for private capital to investments in transport infrastructures.

The successful refinancing allows the A8 A-Modell Ulm–Augsburg, in which the private sector holds an approx. €400 million investment stake, to take advantage of the currently improved conditions on the financial markets and so be well-prepared for the future. 

The approximately 58 km section of the A8 between Ulm and Augsburg was opened to traffic on schedule in September 2015 after slightly more than four years of construction.

PANSUEVIA designed, financed, and carried out the widening of the section to six lanes and took over maintenance and operation of the section for a period of 30 years.

Construction was carried out by a joint venture consisting of STRABAG Großprojekte GmbH, HOCHTIEF Infrastruktur GmbH and Ed. Züblin AG.