The company that will build the Gautrain rapid rail link between Pretoria and Johannesburg has secured a R3-billion loan for the project, it said on Tuesday.
”All of the checks and balances had to be in place before financial close,” said Denis Bouvette, chief executive of the Bombela Concession Company.
”The gratifying outcome for all parties is that all conditions precedent have now been fully met. The project was initially launched in September 2006 and now all the formalities have been concluded,” he said.
Bombela has been in negotiations with banks for 22 months since its appointment as the preferred bidder to build the Gautrain.
Standard Bank and Rand Merchant Bank are the joint lead arrangers, underwriters and sole lenders to the project, while Nedbank Limited was appointed as agent bank to the lenders to manage the financial transactions.
Nedbank will also issue the project bonds.
Bombela said the involvement of its lenders had made the Gautrain project a true public-private partnership (PPP) as envisaged by its client, the Gauteng provincial government.
”This financial close seals the PPP as all partners are now on board to ensure delivery of the project,” said Bouvette.
He commended the provincial government for working ”tirelessly alongside other parties to ensure that all hurdles and bottlenecks were attended to and either resolved or mitigated.”
Commenting on the length of time it had taken to finalise the loan, he said it was due to the banks and their advisers reviewing all the project documents, negotiating the financial documents with Bombela and ensuring that over 100 conditions were met.
”Parallel to this process, our partner, the Strategic Partners Group … engaged in delicate negotiations with the Development Bank of South Africa and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa to source funds and meet both its equity and bond commitments.
”We are pleased by the positive outcome of these negotiations, which enabled the concessionaire to finalise the financial close,” he said.
Bouvette said construction on the Gautrain project was already under way and that progress had been made in Johannesburg at the Marlboro sites, Park station and Sandton Station and Depot.
Roads had been diverted at various sites, starting in Rosebank.
”We expect that the work will cause some discomfort to the public. However, Bombela will minimise any inconveniences through proactive communication with the affected people and the public in general,” he said.
He appealed to residents to be patient as the Gautrain project was intended to advance Gauteng’s socio-economic development and improve the transport system and sustainable growth. — Sapa