Your March project and infrastructure finance digest

This month's digest brings you the best from renewables financing, highlighting a gigantic $11 billion project in the US. Whilst we also bring updates on the latest deals in the market. Our spotlight deal for the month is an exciting Italian submarine deal. Plus, don't miss our data snapshot, delving into the world of PPP project finance deals in the Middle East. Let's dive right in!

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SunZia: A map to financing renewables on a new scale

At $11 billion of debt signed, the SunZia wind and transmission project has broken a raft of renewables project financing records. But given the transmission piece of the project took 17 years to develop, future deals of this scale and type could be accelerated by a simpler route to regulatory approval and financial close.

Full article here

Some exclusive news pieces from this month:

• Details have emerged on the debt financing backing independent fund manager Mexico Infrastructure Partners’ (MIP) acquisition of an 8.539GW power portfolio in Mexico from Iberdrola.
• Nouveau Monde Graphite (NMG) is nearing financial close on a roughly $1.2 billion ECA-backed loan to fund its vertically integrated graphite and battery anode production site in Canada. Proceeds will also cover related infrastructure such as roads and transport hubs on a pari passu basis.
• Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke (LEAG), Germany's second-largest electricity supplier, commissioned the 300MW power plant on 31 July 2023 to ensure security of supply in the future as part of the German energy transition. The power plant, which has special network resource (bnBm) status, was built as one of four grid stabilisation plants in Germany to ensure grid stability following the closure of the last nuclear power plants and the parallel phase-out of coal.

Spotlight deal of the month: EIB issues final tranche of €1.9bn financing Tyrrhenian Link financing

The EIB and project sponsor Terna have signed the loan for the final tranche of the €1.9 billion 22-year debt for the €3.7 billion Tyrrhenian Link – the submarine electricity cable connecting the Italian mainland with Sicily and Sardinia. The Tyrrhenian Link will be fully operational in 2028.

Full tranche and company details can be found here

Proximo Nashville 2024: Financing America's Infrastructure & US Digital Infrastructure Finance

If you're seeking a streamlined route to discover fresh opportunities and forge new deals within the realm of US Infrastructure, then look no further.?This year’s event boasts three streams, covering social and transportation infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and energy infrastructure across the United States.?Enlist yourself amongst?300+ market leaders from developers, government entities, DOTs, institutional investors, banks, legal firms, and financial backers deeply entrenched within the US Infrastructure arena, and ensure 2024 is your most successful year yet.

View the latest agenda here

Data snapshot of the month: Two major PPP projects in Saudi progressed recently. Saudi’s first healthcare PPP – Al Ansar General Hospital – reached financial close, and the tender for the Aseer-Jazan highway PPP – which forms part of four highway projects scheduled to be tendered under the PPP model – was launched.

The deals are symptomatic of a rapidly expanding Saudi PPP market. PPP has gone from an alternative method of government procurement to the mainstream direct state-funded model financed by oil and gas revenues in the past, to the mainstream model of choice in terms of cost efficiency (NPV benefit) and economic diversification.

Stripping out the PIF-backed Saudi mega-PPPs (Neom Green Hydrogen for example) and the independent water and power sectors, the volume of social infrastructure PPPs has been relatively sparse according to Proximo Data, interspersed with major transport infrastructure deals like the $1.2 billion Madinah airport deal in 2012 that was effectively the Saudi transport PPP pathfinder.

But sectors such as education, FTTH, national and local transport (buses for example), healthcare, construction worker accommodation, judicial buildings and street lighting represent a growing pipeline – and one which looks set to deliver a steady delivery of new project lending business.

Not only did we cover these big-ticket financings in February, but in case you missed it, the Proximo Latam 2024 event concluded last week, and the winners were presented with the Deals of the Year 2024 awards. To celebrate, we are making 'Stand Up for the Champions' by Right Said Fred our song of the month to get you in the mood for the rest of the week and to motivate you. Follow our Spotify playlist to add a touch of rhythm to your month!

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Best,

Team Proximo