March 10, 2022 .– Aleatica received the “Deal of the Year” Award – granted by PROXIMO – recognizing a $746 million-dollar financial transaction for the Autopista Río Magdalena (ARM) concession, a highway concession consisting of 153.2 km of roads, located in the regions of Antioquia and Santander, Colombia. The main goal of the project is to provide a one-lane highway each way between Remedios (Antioquia) and Ruta del Sol highway (Santander) and connection to Medellin. The Award highlights that the ARM infrastructure stands out for its complex multi-section structure, the amount of local financing and the positive impact it will have on Colombia’s competitiveness.
The Project is a combination of greenfield and brownfield infrastructure. It includes the construction of 85.3 km of a new one-lane highway in each direction (greenfield) and the rehabilitation and improvement of 58.6 km of an existing one-lane road in each direction (brownfield) and the operation of the connection to Puerto Berrio of 9.3 km. This infrastructure will provide a better connection between the north of the country and the center of Colombia, including the capital city of Bogotá. In addition, 40 short bridges and a 1.4 km bridge over the Magdalena River will be included.
“Aleatica’s commitment is to promote smart, sustainable and safe mobility by facilitating the creation of high-performance highways,” Alejandro Niño, ARM’s General Manager, commented.
Given this vision, ARM serves as a strategic ally for the region because of the diversity of opportunities it offers to the nearby communities and the improvement in their quality of life and economic growth. Since the construction began, 13720 employees have been hired and 2,896 are currently working (generating 162 direct jobs and 2,734 indirect jobs). At the same time, the project has been developed under the prevention, mitigation, and compensation of possible environmental impacts and this has materialized through strict compliance with the environmental permits and licenses granted by the environmental authorities.
Undoubtedly, improving the transportation network involves applying international best practices and this project is in line with the core values that guide Aleatica’s actions, which focus on safety and the development and operation of a sustainable transportation infrastructure to create safe roads around the world.
This financial operation – which required the collaboration of the public and private sectors – represents a real milestone for those who participated and also for Colombia.
Local and international financial institutions that joined this effort included: Goldman Sachs, Santander, as well as lenders Bancolombia, Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN), Instituto de Crédito Oficial (“ICO”), SMBC, Credit Agricole, Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP), Siemens Financial Services and the CAF-AM Ashmore debt fund.
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About Aleatica
Aleatica is a leading global operator and developer of transportation assets headquartered in Madrid with annual revenues of c. €570m and ca 2,200 employees worldwide. The company and currently managing 20 concessions – 16 highways, 3 ports, 1 light railway line and 1 airport, 5 of which are currently under construction – across seven countries in Europe and Latin America: Spain, Italy, UK, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile. Aleatica is wholly owned by the IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, which is advised by IFM Investors, a global institutional investor whose purpose is to protect and grow the long-term retirement savings of working people, with 180 billion USD under management as of December 31, 2021.
Press Contacts
Itzel Meyenberg, +52 556960 0044
itzel.meyenberg@prealeatica.aleatica.com
