Skip to main content

Canada: National Bank and Axium refinance Sea-to-Sky Highway

National Bank Financial and Axium Infrastructure have refinanced the Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project in the Canadian province of British Columbia. A statement from Axium said that the US$427 million 25-year public-private-partnership had “strong investor support and an A2 rating from Moody’s”. The Sea-to-Sky Highway Investment Limited Partnership - Axium Infrastructure, Régime de Rentes du Mouvement Desjardins and Nova Scotia Pension Agency - is the consortium in charge of the concession. In
July 19, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
National Bank Financial and Axium Infrastructure have refinanced the Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

A statement from Axium said that the US$427 million 25-year public-private-partnership had “strong investor support and an A2 rating from Moody’s”.

The Sea-to-Sky Highway Investment Limited Partnership - Axium Infrastructure, Régime de Rentes du Mouvement Desjardins and Nova Scotia Pension Agency - is the consortium in charge of the concession.

In 2010 the Axium consortium acquired 100% of the original 25-year design-build-finance-operate concession contract of the project from the concession holders, 2378 Macquarie Essential Assets Partnership, MEAP). The province retains ownership of the highway.

The Sea-to-Sky Highway is part of Highway 99 from West Vancouver to Whistler, site of the Winter Olympic Games in February 2010. But it was in 2005 that the provincial ministry of transportation began road upgrades under the Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project.

Major improvements were completed in late 2009 that saw the road go from a winding two-lane mountain road to a smoother often four-lane highway. Work included upgrading 95km of the road, constructing 48 bridges and interchanges and more than 200 retaining walls.

Apart from Macquarie Group, which was the project manager, other original concession partners were Peter Kiewit Sons as design-builder, Hatch 2579 Mott MacDonald for engineering work and design, JJM Construction, ND Lea, McElhanney Engineering Services, Miller Paving and Capilano Highway Services. The concession holder invested around $400m in its contract to design, build, finance and operate a highway in its 25-year performance-based contract.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Chinese firm wins highways expansion project to decongest Nairobi
    January 5, 2017
    A Chinese contractor is carrying out a major road project intended to cut congestion in Kenyan capital Nairobi – Shem Oirere writes Chinese contractor China Wu Yi has won a US$163 million contract for the reconstruction and expansion of a 25km highway leading out of Kenya’s capital Nairobi with financing from the World Bank. The contract was awarded by the country’s National Highways Authority (KeNHA), a state-owned road agency responsible for the management, development, rehabilitation and maintenance of i
  • Mott MacDonald to upgrade major west Spain highway
    July 17, 2013
    Mott MacDonald (MM) has been appointed by Sociedad Concesionaria Autovía de la Plata as lender’s technical advisor for a major highway upgrade in western Spain. The project involves the design, construction, maintenance, operation and finance of a 49km two-lane dual carriageway between Benavente and Zamora. The new road, which will bypass the existing single carriageway through local villages, will form the last section of the 809km A-66 Autovía de la Plata highway, connecting Gijon in the north to Seville
  • Road user charging to pay for road improvements?
    February 20, 2012
    What is the current situation with Russian roads? It is an objective answer to this question that is contained in the official report of the Federal State Statistics Service for 2009. Here it states: "...public roads are of poor quality: 8.4% of roads accounted for groundwater, nearly a third of roads are gravel, rubble or cobblestone.
  • Boom in Asian infrastructure investment
    February 8, 2012
    Investment in China and India continues unabated, but other nations on the continent are eager to attract companies as Patrick Smith reports Asia is still booming despite the current economic crisis, and new infrastructure programmes are constantly coming on stream. Powerhouses China and India, with their double-digit growth figures and huge infrastructure plans (in scope and cost), are leading the way and are still magnets for businesses wishing to expand, both in terms of facilities and customers. But oth