Major German road contract awarded

A major road contract has been awarded close to Hesse in Germany.
By MJ Woof September 2, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
STRABAG is one of the partners in a major project in Hesse, Germany – image © courtesy of STRABAG

The contract for a major road project in Germany has been awarded for the A49 highway. The work will be carried out under the PPP model and is located close to Hesse.

The project is a design-build-finance-operate-maintain contract for A49 highway between Fritzlar and Ohmtal interchange. This 62km deal will be handled jointly by STRABAG Großprojekte and LEONHARD WEISS to close the gap between Schwalmstadt and the Ohmtal interchange

The project has a value of over € 700 million. The deal is for the construction of a 31km long section of the A49 highway between Schwalmstadt and the Ohmtal interchange in northern and central Hesse. The PPP project also includes the design and proportionate financing as well as the maintenance and operation of the motorway over a distance of nearly 62km between the Fritzlar junction and the Ohmtal A5/A49 interchange.

The client is the Federal Republic of Germany, represented by the State of Hesse, represented by Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßenplanungs- und -bau (DEGES). The consortium A 49 Autobahngesellschaft has been established for the project and is held 50:50 between STRABAG Infrastrukturprojekt and Meridiam Investments SAS. The PPP contract is for a 30-year concession.

Financing has been provided by the KfW IPEX-Bank (Germany), the European Investment Bank (EIB), MEAG (Germany) and ČSOB (Czech Republic, part of the Belgian KBC Group). In all the project will cost around €1.3 billion.

“We are pleased about the renewed trust in our ability to successfully realise large infrastructure projects in public-private partnerships, something we are already demonstrating in Germany with the A8 and A5 motorways,” said Thomas Birtel, CEO of STRABAG.

The A49 between Fritzlar and the Ohmtal interchange is divided into four sections. The first section to the Neuental junction is already open to traffic. The second section to the Schwalmstadt junction is currently under construction by HessenMobil. Realisation of the new sections three and four, from Schwalmstadt over the Stadtallendorf-Nord junction to the Ohmtal interchange, should begin in September 2020. The contract includes upgrading the A5 along a 1.5km section at the Ohmtal intersection. The main construction works are scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2024.

Finance & Funding

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Serbia road project, funding secured
    February 19, 2019
    Construction of the 77km-long Merdare-Nis highway in Serbia is to benefit from external financing. A funding package worth €100 million is being supplied by the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the project. The funding will pay for work on a stretch of the route between Plocnik and Nis in southern Serbia. The highway will improve transport connections with neighbouring Kosovo when it is complete. This project forms part of a series of road building operations in the region, with extensive work having been
    Read More
  • Develop the Silk Roads, boost economic growth
    April 12, 2012
    Tony Pearce, honorary life member and former director-general of IRF Geneva, recalls the history of the Silk Roads, highlights their continued economic relevance and introduces IRF's active long-term commitment to their rehabilitation.
    Read More
  • Develop the Silk Roads, boost economic growth
    February 28, 2012
    Tony Pearce, honorary life member and former director-general of IRF Geneva, recalls the history of the Silk Roads, highlights their continued economic relevance and introduces IRF's active long-term commitment to their rehabilitation. The Silk Roads had their origins in a Chinese military mission in 138BC to purchase horses in Central Asia's Fergana Valley that were reputed to run so fast that they sweated blood. When General Chang Ch'ien reached Fergana, now in Uzbekistan, he found that the fabled horses
    Read More
  • Multiple asphalt plants supply major highway construction
    July 12, 2012
    One company has produced eight asphalt plants for a major project, and others are introducing new models as Patrick Smith reports Algeria's US$11.2 billion East-West Highway development, the world's largest current highway construction project, forms part of the larger Trans-Maghreb Motorway project, and is scheduled for completion in 2010. It will run for 1,216km, ensuring the link between Annaba in the north-east and Tlemcen in the north-west, passing directly through 24 provinces and linking Algeria to T
    Read More

Highlighted Content