The parties involved in the Liege Tram PPP deal have reached agreement on a restructuring of the financial terms of the contract following a number of issues that have challenged the project.
Financial close on the scheme was originally achieved between the DIF-led Tram’Ardent consortium and the local transport agency in 2019.
However, a series of unforeseen issues - including the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine impacting resource availability and costs, plus most recently flooding in Liege itself in 2022 - have impacted both costs and the schedule for the delivery of the new tram line in the city.
As a result, the lending consortium consisting of the European Investment Bank and commercial lenders, Belfius Bank, Natixis, AG Insurance, BBVA and Talanx, have been working to restructure the financing of the deal.
Working with the Tram’Ardent consortium - which also includes Colas and rail system manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) - the teams have now reached financial close on the refinancing. Loyens & Loeff acted as lenders’ legal advisor to the consortium.
The project is currently expected to be delivered in the first half of 2025.