- Global recognition: The design and financial structure of the project have been acknowledged by leading data and analysis firms such as IJ Global, Project Finance International and Proximo
The Line 6 of São Paulo Subway project (Brazil), built and operated by ACCIONA Group, has won three awards from three different data and analysis firms: IJ Global, Project Finance International (PFI) and Proximo.
IJ Global –one of the leading global sources of information and data on infrastructure and project financing, which is part of Euromoney– awarded ACCIONA the "Deal of the Year 2022" award in the Transport category of its annual awards for Latin America.
PFI –a firm entity focused on providing information and data on financing of global projects– also honored the design and financial structuring of the Line 6 project with the "Transportation Deal of the Year" award as part of its 2022 Americas Awards.
Proximo –a provider of business-to-business (B2B) market intelligence in the project financing, energy and infrastructure sectors– recognized the project as "PPP [public-private partnership] of the year" as part of its annual Latin America awards.
ACCIONA and its partners in the Concessionária Linha Universidade (CLU) consortium raised R$6.9 billion (€1.285 billion) in funding last August with Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) to develop the project. A second financing tranche of R$500 million (€93 million) in funding will be formalized at a later date. In addition, the State of São Paulo will contribute R$7.85 billion (€1.46 billion) during the construction period.
The loan includes the granting of non-recourse bank guarantees that partially cover BNDES's risk during construction, which is an innovative financing model for BNDES.
The term of this financing is 20 years, and eleven financial institutions are providing bank guarantees for an amount of R$3,312 million (€617 million). These banks are BNP Paribas, which acted as exclusive financial advisor for the operation, Banco Santander, JP Morgan, ICO, CAF, SMBC NY, SMBC BR, Intesa, CACIB, Bradesco and ABC. These guarantees allow for a funding structure of 100% of the resources in the local currency for the project.
The loan is an example of sustainable financing secured by an independent assessment provided by Vigeo Eiris, based on criteria related to taxonomy, female and local employment, electric mobility and local entrepreneurship, as well as by the Development Impact Assessment conducted by JPMorgan. BNP Paribas and Banco Santander are the sustainability co-agents.
EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE
Line 6 of the São Paulo subway is a concession from the State of São Paulo consisting in the construction and operation of a subway line connecting the Brasilandia and Freguesia de Ó districts to the city center. The project will be 15.3 kilometers long and will have 15 underground stations, including three major interchanges. It is expected to carry around 630,000 passengers daily.
The concession holder, Concessionária Linha Universidade, S.A., is participated by ACCIONA (47%), Société Générale (39.7%), Stoa (12.3%) and Transdev (1%). The civil works are being carried out by ACCIONA (100%) and the rolling stock is supplied by Alstom.
The total cost of the project is approximately R$18 billion (€3,354 million), making it the largest infrastructure project under execution in Latin America.
ACCIONA has the technical credentials and experience in developing urban mobility solutions. In recent years, the company has participated in 44 projects in seven countries. In terms of railroads and subway lines, ACCIONA has built 3,000 kilometers of tracks, 1,200 kilometers of which are high-speed lines. The company also has extensive experience in underground construction, with more than 600 kilometers of tunnels completed.
In Latin America, ACCIONA has already worked in Brazil on the development of two lots of Line 2 of the São Paulo Subway. It has also executed Line 3 of the Santiago de Chile Subway and Line 1 of the Quito Subway, in Ecuador.