Skanska selected for major public-private partnership road project in Poland – construction contract valued at SEK 4.5 billion
Skanska has been assigned responsibility for the A1 motorway south of Gdansk in Poland. The project is to be conducted in public-private partnership. The Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and a consortium headed by Skanska have signed a concession agreement giving the consortium total responsibility for financing, designing, constructing and operating the approximately 90-kilometer stretch of road.
Press Release
September 1, 2004
Skanska selected for major public-private partnership road project in Poland - construction contract valued at SEK 4.5 billion
Skanska has been assigned responsibility for the A1 motorway south of Gdansk in Poland. The project is to be conducted in public-private partnership. The Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and a consortium headed by Skanska have signed a concession agreement giving the consortium total responsibility for financing, designing, constructing and operating the approximately 90-kilometer stretch of road.
Skanska BOT heads the Gdansk Transport Company (GTC) consortium of owners and investors, which will be responsible for arranging finance and contracting suppliers. Skanska BOT's share initially amounts to 51 percent. Intertoll of South Africa and NDI of Poland hold the remaining shares. Discussions with further investors are under way. Skanska's investment will be less than EUR 20 M.
The entire construction assignment, which is estimated to be valued at approximately SEK 4.5 billion (EUR 500 M), is to be carried out by Skanska. The project will be Skanska's largest road and civil-engineering assignment to date in Poland.
The signing of the construction contract and financing agreement is expected to take place in early 2005. The order will be included in Skanska's order bookings once this has taken place.
Payment from the Polish road authority will comprise a guaranteed basic remuneration for access to the road, as well as supplements for traffic volumes, through "shadow tolls."
"We are happy to have the opportunity to participate in this major project. Public-private partnership allows Poland to improve its infrastructure faster than through traditional government financing," says Bert-Ove Johansson, President of Skanska BOT.
"Poland is an attractive long-term market with extensive infrastructure needs. This project is a good platform for additional assignments in the future, both in construction and public-private partnership projects," says Jan-Gunnar Glave, President of Skanska Poland.
The new stretch of motorway will be approximately 90 kilometers long, on a north to south route from Gdansk towards Torun in northern Poland. Design and preparatory work has begun. Construction is expected to commence during 2005 and be completed in 2008. In a second stage, a further 60 kilometers are planned. The concession period, during which the owner consortium will be responsible for operation and maintenance, extends until 2039.
Privately financed infrastructure is part of Skanska's strategic focus. Skanska is the leading construction company in public-private partnership (PFI) in the UK. Skanska has secured hospital, prison and school projects amounting to a total construction volume of GBP 2.5 billion (approximately SEK 34 billion). Skanska is also currently constructing BOT (build operate transfer) roads in Norway and Chile in public-private partnership. Between 1997 and 1999, Skanska constructed the first BOT road project in the Nordic region, the motorway between Helsinki and Lahti in Finland.
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For further information please contact:
Bert-Ove Johansson, President, Skanska BOT,
tel +46 8 504 368 77
Bernard Pisarski, Commercial Director, GTC,
tel +48 601 65 78 35
Peter Gimbe, SVP Communications, Skanska AB,
tel +46 8 753 88 38