Windsor-Essex Parkway reaches financial close

On December 17, 2010, Infrastructure Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) announced that the Windsor Essex Mobility Group (WEMG) had reached financial close and signed a fixed-price contract with the Province. This means that all contractual steps have been completed with WEMG and it plans to start full construction of the Parkway in summer 2011. The project, which will expand and improve a critical trade gateway between the US and Canada, represents the most significant single highway investment in Ontario's history.

The Parkway will be delivered using the province's alternative financing and procurement (AFP) delivery model. The AFP model transfers most risks associated with designing, constructing and maintaining the Parkway to WEMG. The value of the contract to WEMG is approximately $1.4 billion in today's dollars. Over the 30-year life of the contract, the total future payments will add up to approximately $2.2 billion (nominal).

This financing was the largest transaction undertaken by Infrastructure Ontario under its AFP model to date, and was completed in the shortest amount of time of all such transactions to date.

Financing for the Project, which comprised short term construction debt and long term 30-year debt, aggregating to over US$1.1 million, as well as related hedging facilities, was provided by a club of 10 international banks, including Banesto, Santander, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, BNP Paribas, Caja Madrid, Credit Agricole, Dexia, ING, Societe Generale and WestLB.

The lenders and hedge providers were advised by Fasken Martineau with a team that included Brian Kelsall, Ella Plotkin, Jon Holmstrom, Sean Morley, Kevin Clinton, Lisa Marcuzzi, Marc Lefler and student-at-law Will Shaw.