International investment and asset and funds management firm Babcock & Brown, in consortium with HSH Nordbank, reached financial close on a 40 year PPP with Infrabel, the Belgian state owned rail infrastructure owner and operator. The project is to design, build, finance and maintain the upgrade of a section of rail infrastructure in Belgium that will improve links between the existing Brussels Airport railway station and the rest of the rail network.
Babcock & Brown’s equity investment in the project is 27 million. It is expected that this investment will be offered to one or a group of Babcock & Brown’s specialised funds in due course.
Phil Green, chief executive of Babcock & Brown, says, “Our success in closing this significant PPP project in Belgium reflects our experience and expertise in the PPP sector built up since the mid 1990s in the UK and more recently in Australia. The project builds on our expanding portfolio of PPP projects including recent contracts secured in Canada, the US, Germany, Ireland and France as well as the UK and Australia. The project also expands our growing presence in rail infrastructure related projects around the world.
“The funding for the project has been finalised despite the volatility in global credit markets and reflects the banking sectors ongoing support for projects with strong transparent cashflows.”