Vial Montes de María SAS, concessionaire of the Puerta de Hierro-Palmar de Varela and Carreto-Cruz del Viso road project, has secured a short-term bridge loan for an amount of US$50 million for the project.

The loan is backed by the Interamerican Corporation for the Financing of Infrastructure (CIFI); Banco Pichincha Panamá, SA, and Banco BTG Pactual SA, Cayman Branch. The latter acted as Mandated Lead Arranger of the financing.

The concessionaire, which is owned by SACYR Concesiones, was awarded the project in May 2015. It involves the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of upgrades to an approximately 200km road corridor in the north-west of the country, passing through the departments of Sucre, Bolivar and Atlántico.

It is part of the Fourth Generation (4G) Toll Roads concession programme and requires an estimated total investment of COP496.7 billion (US$163.6 million).