Financing for the Prado Sud toll tunnel contract in Marseilles, France, has been completed by the concessionaire, a venture of Vinci and Eiffage.
The 1.5km long Prado Sud tunnel project is an extension to the Prado Carenage tunnel and is scheduled for completion in early 2013. It will be a singe tube with a double-deck arrangements for the two lanes of traffic in each direction.
The concession was awarded in March, has a 46-year term and calls for the financing, design, construction and operation of the new connection.
A total of Euro189M (US$241M) has been raised for the project of which 80% is debt with a 10-year term and the balance is a subsidy from the local authority – Marseilles provence Metropole Urban Community.
Earlier this year, when the concession was awarded, the cost was cited as Euro193M (US$246M) and it was envisaged that 75% would be invested in studies and works stages.
The new tunnel will link the A50 motorway with principal roads in the city – Avenue du Prado II and the Boulevard Michelet. The concessionaire is majority-owned by Vinci Concessions, and the construction work is to be undertaken by Vinci Construction France and Eiffage Travaux Publics in a JV split on the same basis.
The companies are also the majority shareholders in the toll tunnel operator Societe Marseillaise du Tunnel Prado Carenage.
