Agreements signed with respect to A2 motorway financing

On 29 June 2009 agreements were signed with respect to the financing of the construction and operation of A2 Motorway section Nowy Tomyśl – Świecko.

These agreements permit the commencing of construction works prior to EURO 2012, which eventually will link A2 with the European motorway network.

The so-called “Financial Close” agreements were signed by Cezary Grabarczyk, Minister of Infrastructure; Andrzej Patalas, President of the Board of Autostrada Wielkopolska II S.A.; Massimo d’Eufemia , European Investment Bank Director and representatives of 11 commercial banks and representatives of AWSAII (the concessionaire company) final shareholders. The Financial Close means the final deal with the lenders permitting the project financing and the actual commencement of construction.

Funding Sources

The funds amounting to 1.6 billion EUR for the design and construction of the motorway to Świecko come from three sources:

• the loan from the European Investment Bank of EUR 1.0 billion (ca. 62% of the Project cost);
• the loan from 11 international and Polish commercial banks of EUR 400 million (ca. 26% of the Project cost); banks have granted also the loan for VAT expenditures in the amount up to 150 million PLN. The following 11 commercial banks are committing/ lending funds to the Project: BBVA S.A.Bank, Pekao S.A., BRE Bank S.A., Caja Madrid, Calyon, Deutsche Bank AG, Espirito Santo Investment, KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, PKO BP, Societe Generale, WestLB;
• shareholders’ contribution of more than EUR 186 million (ca. 12% of the Project cost), including:
  • share capital (EUR 50 million),
  • junior loan (EUR 136 million).

Andrzej Patalas , president of AWSAII said:

“We appreciate the confidence of the European Investment Bank in our project, demonstrated by the unprecedented commitment of ca. EUR 1 billion, which corresponds to more than 60% of the project costs. It is for the first time that the EIB came with such a high commitment with respect to an infrastructural project in Poland. Such a high loan from the EIB is a confirmation of our reliability as a business partner and our professional attitude”, said AWSAII President.”

Intended Construction Works

A2 section from Nowy Tomysl to Świecko will be the one of the longest motorway stretches in Poland to be built with concrete pavement. The program agreed by the parties provides for the commencement of works in July 2009 and opening the road to traffic prior to EURO 2012. The general contractor will be the company A2 Strada (with major shareholders being Kulczyk Holding S.A and Strabag AG (Austria)). The scope of works includes inter alia:

• 105.9 km of concrete pavement motorway, including rehabilitation of 18.5 km of the existing national Road No.2
• 81 new bridges and overbridges – with the target number of bridge structures being 87
• 2 Operation and Maintenance Centers (Ilanka, Biały Mur)
• 6 full interchanges (target number: 8: Nowy Tomyśl, Trzciel, Jordanowo, Torzym, Rzepin, Świecko)
• 6 Rest and Service Areas (target number 10 Rogoziniec, Chociszewo, Koryta, Walewice, Sosna, Gnilec) equipped with parking areas, toilets, playgrounds , as well as 4 bars and 4 petrol stations
• closed toll collection system. i.e. 5 Toll Plazas/Stations (1 Mainline Toll Plaza Tarnawa, 4 Toll Stations at interchanges Nowy Tomyśl, Trzciel, Jordanowo, Torzym) . The drivers will pay for the actual distance traveled with ticket collected on entry and payment on exit;
• full environmental protection equipment (evaporation tanks, noise barriers, protective greenery, culverts, safety equipment, emergency roadside telephones every 2 km, fence along the entire motorway (except for the interchanges)

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Explanation

AWSAII

AWSAII is a special purpose vehicle related to AWSA, established with a view to build and operate the A2 motorway, stretch Świecko – Nowy Tomyśl. The final shareholding structure will include: Kulczyk Holding S.A. (40%), Meridiam A2 West S a.r.l. (40%), Strabag AG (10%) and KWM Investment GmbH (10%). The current share capital of the Company is PLN 40 million (and will be increased by September of this year to 50 million EUR). Andrzej Patalas is President of the Management Board.

EIB

The European Investment Bank (EIB) was created by the Treaty of Rome in 1958 as the long-term lending bank of the European Union, providing loans to public and private sectors for European projects in such areas as: cohesiveness and convergence of EU regions, support to SMEs, environmental protection plans, research and development, innovations, transport, power industry. The Bank is present in the EU and in ca. 140 countries throughout the world with which the EU entered into cooperation agreements.
The EIB is a non-profit organization. It is owned by the member states of the EU. The EIB does not use the EU budget; rather, its business is funded from funds raised on the capital markets. The projects fostered by the Bank are thoroughly selected by basing on the following criteria:

• they must contribute to the attainment of the EU goals,
• they must be reasonable from the economic, financial and technological point of view, as well as environmental friendly,
• they should attract funding from other sources.