Uruguay’s largest road concession sold by COPASA for €213M

S.A. de Obras y Servicios COPASA and Espina Obras Hidráulicas have agreed to sell their 100% stake in the Circuito Vial Tres concession to a consortium formed by Bestinver Infra and Abrdn’s Andean Social Infrastructure Funds.

Circuito Vial Tres is the entity in charge of the concession and operation of the “Proyecto Circuito Vial Tres: Ruta Nº 14 Centro – Oeste, Bypass Sarandí del Yi y conexión Ruta 14 Ruta 3”. This 20-year contract covers the design, construction, operation and financing of a 292-kilometre road, a key artery connecting southwest and central Uruguay, from Mercedes to Sarandí del Yi, and serving as a link between Brazil and Argentina.

This concession is the largest awarded under a PPP scheme in Uruguay to date. The initial construction was financed with COPASA’s and ESPINA’s own resources, external financing in local currency and revenues generated during the first years of operation. The concessionaire’s revenues come from Availability Payments paid by the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MTOP), as consideration for achieving and maintaining service quality according to established technical indicators. In 2022, the concessionaire invoiced 23 million euros and projects average annual revenues of 29 million euros.

The amount of the transaction, including the associated debt, totals 213 million euros.

The consortium led by COPASA (80%) and ESPINA (20%), a company that has been operating in Uruguay since 1995, was awarded this project in 2019. Thanks to the planning, capabilities and specialisation of both companies, construction was completed on time, allowing the first sections to be opened to traffic in 2020. The financial closing of the project was carried out in June 2019 with the participation of the Financial Trust Fund Fondo de Deuda para Infraestructura en Uruguay CAF I, Corporación Andina de Fomento and Banco Santander S.A.

This transaction is part of the companies’ strategy of rotating operating assets to maximise the return on capital employed and boost new investments.

BBVA and Dentons Jiménez de Aréchaga acted as financial and legal advisors to the sellers, while Astris Finance, WSP, AON and Ferrere acted as financial, technical, insurance and legal advisors to the buyers.