• A3 Nordbayern GmbH & Co. KG to receive €400 million in long-term financing
  • The operation is Germany's biggest public-private partnership
  • The EU bank financing is being provided under the Investment Plan for Europe

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing €400 million to support the upgrading of the A3 motorway in Bavaria between the AK Biebelried and AK Fürth/Erlangen junctions, via a public-private partnership (PPP). The 29-year, long-term loan from the EU bank is backed by a guarantee from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). Under the Investment Plan for Europe (the Juncker Plan), the EIB Group and the European Commission are working together as strategic partners to boost the competitiveness of the European economy.

The A3 upgrade contract was awarded to the A3 Nordbayern consortium, comprising Eiffage S.A and JOHANN BUNTE Bauunternehmung GmbH & Co. KG as shareholders. The A3 upgrade – the largest PPP project to have been commissioned in Germany – concerns the widening of a 76 km stretch of motorway from Biebelried to west of the Rhine-Main-Danube canal bridge from four to six lanes. Works are expected to last until 2025, with an estimated total project cost of over €1 billion. The A3 upgrade is part of a comprehensive German Federal Government infrastructure programme to modernise and upgrade 10 sections of the country's motorway network.

The EIB Vice-President responsible for operations in Germany, Ambroise Fayolle, welcomed the completion of this transaction on a very tight timetable: “Providing efficient and effective infrastructure is key. Despite the current difficult context, the EIB has proven to be a reliable cornerstone financer for the project. This once again shows that the EU bank – with Juncker Plan support – is able to fulfil its aim to strengthen the European economy, even in complicated circumstances.”

Background information

About Eiffage

Eiffage is one of Europe’s leading construction and concessions companies. The Group’s activities are organised around the following business lines: construction, real estate and urban development, civil engineering, metal, roads, energy and concessions. Thanks to the experience of more than 72 500 employees, Eiffage generated revenues of €18.1 billion in 2019, almost 26% of which was outside France.

Eiffage Infra-Bau SE and its subsidiaries have more than 150 years of construction experience across Germany and Europe. A grouping of skilled and successful construction firms, Eiffage Infra-Bau Group offers a wide range of services and a high level of in-house production for complex infrastructure projects.

About Bunte

Bunte is a leading German construction contractor. Over the last 148 years, it has evolved from a small transport company to a comprehensive general construction services provider.

We serve our customers across Germany and neighbouring European countries by offering state-of-the-art construction work, efficient project management, innovative solutions, first-class quality and a high level of adherence to contracts and deadlines. This successful development has seen the implementation of complex and demanding large-scale projects that, with the help of approximately 1 700 employees and an impressive stock of equipment and machinery, result in annual output of around €600 million.

Bunte is active in the following business areas: earthworks and road construction, asphalt production, railway construction, engineering, hydraulic engineering, bridge construction and building construction. We also have extensive experience in the PPP market segment – as well as in real estate project development and project financing – via our project investment business.