International Public Partnerships Limited has announced that the GoldLinQ consortium will make a further investment into a 7.3km extension to the Gold Coast Light Rail project in Queensland, Australia.
The original A$1.29 billion project delivered by the Queensland Government and GoldLinQ saw the development of a 13km light rail system between Gold Coast University Hospital and Broadbeach. It has been operational since July 2014. The 7.3km extension from the Gold Coast University Hospital north to Helensvale will link the light rail system to the State’s heavy rail line and incorporate three additional stations.
Key features of the Project include:
- 13 year concession term ending in 2029 (to coincide with the original project term);
- Revenues linked to the availability of the asset and partially linked to Australian CPI;
- Construction and operations risk fully passed down to CPB Contractors (formerly Leighton Contractors as Design and Build Contractors) and Keolis Downer EDI (currently the incumbent Operations and Maintenance Contractors);
- Revenues contracted with the Queensland State Government;
- No refinancing risk;
- Robust financial structure in place with conservative gearing and senior debt provided for the term of the concession by BBVA, Intesa, KfW, EDC, BTMU and Mizuho.
International Public Partnerships has committed to invest approximately A$7 million (c.£3.8 million at current exchange rates)] for a 26.7% equity stake in the extension alongside Plenary Group, Marubeni Group, Palisade, Keolis and Aveng Group. Construction is expected to reach completion at the end of 2017, with operations commencing in early 2018 in time for the opening of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April.
The company’s investment will be made towards the end of the construction period and its commitment will be secured by a letter of credit. As a result, the Company has approximately £142 million of uncommitted credit available under its £300 million revolving credit facility (after taking into account its future investment obligations into new projects including its investment commitments to the Thames Tideway Tunnel project). The return profile of this follow-on investment is expected to be consistent with the returns being generated by the Company on its investment in the initial phase of the project
INPP : International Public Partnerships investing in Gold Coast Light Rail