The European Investment Bank, preserving the momentum of its financing for the development and modernisation of Europe's transport infrastructure, has signed a project financing loan for an amount of EUR 400 million (1) for the HSL Zuid 'Public Private Partnership' project in the Netherlands.
HSL Zuid, the high-speed railway project between Amsterdam and the Belgian border is the final phase of the major PKBAL (Paris-Köln-Brussels-Amsterdam-London) high speed rail network. PKBAL is one of the 14 priority Trans-European Network projects for which the EIB has already extended loans in Belgium, France and the UK. International and domestic railway users will benefit from time savings and increased reliability, whilst the overall attractiveness of the use of the railway mode on a key European route will be enhanced.
The EIB has maintained a high level of financing in the transport sector, committing some EUR 73 billion over the past five years for transport projects. This includes financing packages for 11 out of the 14 priority TENs projects. The Bank has given priority to supporting the more environmentally friendly schemes, concentrating 37% of its loans into long-distance rail links and urban rail transport systems.
The HSL Zuid project has been developed as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) in order to enhance the value-for-money of the investment. The project is promoted by the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management under a long term concession contract granted to Infraspeed BV, a private sector consortium consisting of Fluor Daniel BV, Koninklijke BAM/NBM NV, Siemens Nederland NV, Siemens Transportation Systems, Innisfree Limited and Charterhouse Project Equity Investments Limited.
EIB Vice President, Michael Tutty said: "This is one of the highest priority rail transport projects in the EU at present as it is the final phase of the implementation of the major PKBAL high speed train network. It will bring major benefits to European transport by improving domestic and international train services and relieving road and air congestion. The HSL Zuid is a flagship project for the development of the PPP initiative in the Netherlands . EIB has played a key catalyst role in working closely with the public and the private sector towards the development of this project financing."
The EIB's financing is part of a EUR 1.1 billion project financing package made available to Infraspeed. The EIB is co-financing the project with international commercial banks led by Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank, ING, KBC, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, Dexia Crédit Local and Rabobank. The HSL Zuid scheme is a key project for both the Netherlands and Europe's financial markets and will be one of the largest European project financings put together this year.
The project involves the construction of 96 km of new tracks with corresponding state-of-the-art signalling, power and communication systems. Project completion is targeted for 2006. The new rail link is expected to reduce journey times between Amsterdam and Brussels from 212 minutes to 138 minutes.
The European Investment Bank, the European Union's long-term lending institution, finances capital investment furthering EU integration, in particular: regional development, trans-European networks in transport, telecoms and energy; industrial competitiveness and integration; SMEs; environmental protection; and energy security. It also operates outside the EU within the framework of the EU's co-operation external policy. Owned by the Member States, the EIB raises its funds on capital markets (AAA issuer). In 2000, the EIB lent some EUR 36 billion.
(1) 1 EUR = 61.86 GBP , 2.20371 NLG