BAAK-Blankenburg-Verbinding B.V. wins PFI award

During the PFI award show in London BAAK-Blankenburg-Verbinding B.V. won in the category 'Europe Transport Deal of the Year'. At this annual awards show, prizes are awarded for worldwide projects that have been distinctive in the field of project financing.

In terms of financing, the project Blankenburg Connection has been one of the largest European transactions for an infrastructure project. Within the consortium, Macquarie Capital took on the role as financial advisor. The financing of the project totaling € 900 million is financed by the banks KBC, The Korea Development Bank, Belfius, KfW, BNG and SMBC and by the institutional investors Natixis, MEAG and Samsung Life Insurance. The European Investment Bank provides 50 percent of the long-term loan, for a total amount of approximately € 350 million, which is financed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

The complexity of the work in combination with the financing structure convinced the jury to award the prize to BAAK-Blankenburg-Verbinding B.V. Bart Buyck (Director of Concessions Ballast Nedam): "In my opinion, the PFI award was rightly awarded because of the performance to arrange the project financing of 900 million euros for complex projects of this kind, combining banks, institutional investors and the EIB. At the same time, it has introduced two new Korean investors into the Dutch project financing market."

About the project

With the Blankenburg Connection the Rotterdam region will get a third crucial connection between North and South. This will link the A20 at Vlaardingen to the A15 in the port area, giving rise to a number of significant positive impacts on the accessibility and economic situation of the entire region. Rijkswaterstaat has commissioned consortium Ballast Nedam DEME and Macquarie Capital, to create this new and impressive connection. It will feature two intersections, a land tunnel and a tunnel beneath the River Scheur.