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El Grupo ACS se adjudica la concesión para la construcción del nuevo Puente sobre el Río St. Lawrence en Montreal, Canadá, por 1.850 millones de euros

16-04-2015
The Federal Government of Canada has awarded the concession contract for the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the new bridge over the St. Lawrence River to the consortium in which the ACS Group holds a 50% stake through its subsidiaries Iridium, Dragados and Flatiron. The project has investment in excess of CAD 2.46 billion, approximately EUR 1.85 billion, and after its completion it will replace the existing Champlain Bridge.
Built in 1962, the current Champlain Bridge supports one of the highest levels of traffic in the country, reaching 40 million vehicles per year. In addition to having one of the main accesses to the Island of Montreal on its eastern side, the bridge plays a strategic role given its location on one of the main commercial exchange routes with the United States.
The contract includes the construction of the new 3.3 km-long bridge, which has a central span of 430 metres, as well as the execution of all the approach infrastructure and the reconfiguration of the stretches of motorway adjacent to the bridge. In accordance with the requirements of the contract, the new bridge must be completed in December 2018, while the rest of the infrastructure will be finished throughout 2019. The ACS Group will participate, together with SNC Lavalin, in the execution of the design and construction works, with a 50% stake in the temporary joint construction venture through its subsidiaries Dragados and Flatiron.
The contract includes a 30-year period of operation during which ACS will participate together with SNC Lavalin, as concessionaire partners, in the maintenance works of the new infrastructure and the toll collection on behalf of the Federal Government.
The financing will be made up of public funds from the Federal Government as well as private funding, the structuring process of which has been led by the ACS team and which contemplates a short-term bank loan and a long-term bond issue in the Canadian capital market.
The commercial close and financial close are scheduled for the end of June 2015.

Consolidation of the ACS Group/Dragados in the North American concessions market
The allocation of the contract for the new Bridge over the St. Lawrence River in Montreal constitutes a fundamental step for the consolidation of the ACS Group in the North American concessions market and in particular its presence in Canada. This new project comes after the awards of the Portsmouth Bypass in the State of Ohio, whose financial close was completed on 9 April 2015, and the SH-288 motorway in the State of Texas, awarded in February 2015. Iridium's portfolio of concession projects in North America includes 9 projects, with an investment value of more than USD 12 billion, or EUR 11.3 billion. In addition to the new bridge over the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, the Portsmouth Bypass in Ohio and the SH-288 in Texas, the portfolio is completed with the A-30 motorway in Montreal, open to traffic in December 2012, the I-595 Express motorway in Florida, open to traffic in March 2014, the South Fraser Perimeter Road in Vancouver, open to traffic in December 2013, the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway in Ontario, the closing of the Edmonton (North East Anthony Henday) bypass in Alberta and the new light metro line in Ottawa.
The ACS Group occupies first place in the ranking of international construction companies drafted by the Engineering News Record publication and has held the top spot in the international ranking of infrastructure investors developed by the Public Works Financing publication since 1994.