London’s PFI names highway PPP ‘Deal of the Year’
The PR22/PR5 PPP is garnering international recognition. (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)
For the second time in as many months, the government’s 40-year, Public-Private Partnership concession of the PR-22/PR5 highways has nabbed an award from a prestigious international group, this time from London’s Project Finance International, a global project finance intelligence source and a unit of Thomson Reuters Professional Publishing.
The project was one of eight selected in the Americas region.
In its rationale of the deal that transferred the management and operation of the island’s busiest highway and a shorter toll road to a consortium comprising Abertis Infraestructuras and Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners, PFI noted several significant aspects, namely that it was the “only bank-financed toll road project in North America in 2011” and “the first brownfield toll road monetization to have successfully closed in the U.S. since 2006.”
The PFI also pointed out the “transparency” of the process as another point in the deal’s favor.
“Transparency throughout the entire procurement process was another strength, with the PPP Authority facilitating strong partnership between all parties, including government entities, investors, developers and public interest parties.”
David Álvarez, executive director of the PPPA, said, “This recognition reveals the strong potential of the PPP approach that Puerto Rico has implemented.”
“We feel proud of the recognition and look forward to a productive 2012,” he said.
The award will be handed out in London on Jan. 25.
As News is my Business first informado, last month, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, an organization based in Washington representing 5,000 members in the transportation industry, bestowed its “Project of the Year” award to the PPP, which it said will “serve as a catalyst for expansion in the U.S. PPP market.”
