Skip to main content

New highways to improve Austria's connections

A massive highway project will boost Austria's international links. The €933 million Ostergion PPP motorway project is one of the largest PPP projects currently in operation in Europe. The financers of the project are AMBAC and EIB, while the routine maintenance activities are headed by Egis. The project intends to ease congestion Austria's capital, Vienna, improve commuter traffic, enhance road connections between Austria and the Czech Republic and increase safety on congested B roads around the country.
March 6, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A massive highway project will boost Austria's international links. The €933 million Ostergion PPP motorway project is one of the largest PPP projects currently in operation in Europe.

The financers of the project are 3645 AMBAC and 1054 European Investment Bank (EIB), while the routine maintenance activities are headed by 2643 Egis. The project intends to ease congestion Austria's capital, Vienna, improve commuter traffic, enhance road connections between Austria and the Czech Republic and increase safety on congested B roads around the country.

The PPP Ostregion Package comprises four road expansion projects for 113km of new road construction, representing a network of urban and inter-urban highways in the vicinity of Austria's capital. The project is part of the Austrian Transport Infrastructure Master Plan, as well as being part of the Trans European Network. In December 2006, Asfinag, the Austrian highway agency, awarded Project Y to Bonaventura, a Special Purpose Vehicle sponsored by 981 Hochtief PPP Solutions, 2859 Alpine Mayreder and 2376 EGIS Projects.

Under the agreement, Bonaventura will plan, construct, finance and operate the project for 32 years. While the total project cost is €933 million, it has a capital expenditure of €776 million. The revenues will be a mix of availability and shadow toll payments by Asfinag. International consultancy 3449 EC Harris will provide long term control and risk monitoring on the highway project. Under the terms of its deal, EC Harris will monitor the operational performance of the motorway to ensure that the project remains financially stable and generates the predicted revenues over the next 28 years. During the operation and maintenance phase EC Harris will provide regular advice to the lenders on topics including compliance matters, performance levels, income generation and maintenance activities.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • EIB aids funding for Poland's A2
    July 12, 2012
    The European Investment Bank (EIB) will help funding of the A2 highway project in Poland, which has faced financing problems due to the economic crisis. The EIB is making an exception to its usual policy by granting to Polish company Autostrada Wielkopolska credit that covers over 50% of the costs of the construction work for a highway section. The EIB will provide €1 billion for the A2 investment and to create an option of an additional €200 million. The total value of the investment, which is expected to
  • Contractor Strabag reports strong performance
    April 30, 2013
    Austrian contractor STRABAG reports healthy earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of €207 million in 2012. This figure beats the firm’s own expectations and the expectations of the market. Net income after minorities stood at €61 million, showing an expected considerable decrease of 66.67% compared to the year before. “An output volume of €14 billion in 2012 – that’s nothing to complain about. With €13.2 billion, the end-of-the-year order backlog is also nearly exactly at the pre-crisis level of 2008, s
  • EU Commission adopts plan for €50 billion boost to European networks
    May 2, 2012
    The European Commission has tabled a plan which will fund €50 billion (US$68.7 billion) worth of investment to improve Europe's transport, energy and digital networks. It has also announced the Europe 2020 Project Bond Initiative which will be one of a number of risk-sharing instruments upon which the facility may draw in order to attract private finance in projects.
  • Success of toll road operators' conference
    July 12, 2012
    The 37th ASECAP Annual Study and Information Days held in Krakow, Poland, gathered some 300 road transport CEOs, experts and government decision-makers making the event "a huge success." Patrick Smith reports Toll road operators from across Europe have met to discuss the state of their businesses in the current economic climate and how to tackle it. Fabrizio Palenzona, the outgoing President of ASECAP (the European professional Association of Operators of Toll Road Infrastructures) and president of AISCAT (