PEDEMONTANA LOMBARDA TOLL MOTORWAY PPP

Financing of the design, building, operation and maintenance of the stretches B2 and C of the Autostrada Pedemontana Lombarda toll motorway, including complementary roads, running through the provinces of Milan, Monza-Brianza and Bergamo in the Lombardy Region.

The project is part of Phase 2 of the A36 toll motorway included in the Pedemontana Lombarda concession. The project is part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and part of the northern outer bypass of Milan. The main objective is to shift traffic out of the Milan urban area, thereby reducing congestion and increasing road safety.

The project will finance the construction of 2 sections of the Autostrada Pedemontana Lombarda, a long awaited toll motorway in the northern area of Milan in the Region of Lombardy. The project is part of the comprehensive TEN-T road network and is also classified by the Italian Inter-Ministerial Committee for Economic Planning (Comitato Interministeriale per la Programmazione Economica- CIPE) as strategic infrastructure of major national interest since 2001. The new infrastructure will provide improved connectivity in a highly urbanized and industrialized area, thereby eliminating bottlenecks, optimizing traffic flows and reducing average trip distance. The project addresses two market failures, namely, accessibility and efficiency. The markets also fail to provide adequate funds for such kind of projects due to its investment size, the long construction period and exposure to traffic risk, exacerbated by current uncertainties on economic recovery post-Covid. Against this background, the EIB support to the project, through a loan with a longer tenor than otherwise available on the market, would accelerate its implementation. The EIB funding, alongside the National Promotional Bank's funding, would also send a strong signal to the market about its financial viability, contributing not only to crowding-in other financiers but also to the successful closing of the operation, due to the material size of the overall financing package.

The project falls under Annex I of the EIA Directive, requiring a full environmental impact assessment (EIA). EIA studies have been completed and the competent authorities have issued environmental decisions. Compliance with the Birds and Habitats Directives (2009/147/EC and 92/43/EC, as amended) and other relevant environmental legislation is to be assessed during appraisal.

The Bank will require the Promoter to ensure that contracts for the implementation of the project have been tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation (Directives 2014/24/EU or 2014/18/EC, where applicable), as well as Directive 92/13/EEC or Directive 89/665/EEC as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with publication of tender notices in the Official Journal of the EU, as and where required.