SK Ecoplant to start construction of Norway's largest infrastructure project!

- Signed a financial agreement for the Sotra high-speed national highway project in Norway Achieved 1 trillion won in financing within 6 months of selecting a preferred bidder
- The first domestic industry to enter the Nordic public-private partnership (PPP) business, a splendid achievement following the first entry into Western Europe in 2019 ... Increase profitability and reduce risks with the PPP business that advanced from the existing EPC (design, procurement, construction) method
- Recognized for both large-scale financing and business execution capabilities in the advanced European market, positioning itself as a global developer centered on PPP

The public private partnership (PPP) project in Nordic Norway, where SK Ecoplant entered the domestic industry for the first time, will begin construction within this year.
SK Ecoplant recently signed a financial agreement and a concession agreement with the Norwegian government for the 'Rv555 The Sotra Connection project' worth 2.2 trillion won, the largest ever among Norwegian single infrastructure projects. It was announced on the 24th that it was signed.
 
The signing of the financial agreement is the result of six months after being selected as the preferred bidder in September last year. SK Ecoplant succeeded in procuring a total private investment of about $860 million (about 1 trillion won) through project financing (PF). Korea Export-Import Bank, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, KDB Industrial Bank, CaixaBank (Spain), German Development Bank (KfW, Germany), Credia Gricole Bank (CA-CIB, France), Bank of China (Bank of China) ), and a total of 9 leading domestic and foreign financial institutions participated as lenders.
 
According to the client's policy that private investment should be financed in local currency, securing a large-scale local currency was a key prerequisite for financial agreement and construction start, an SK Ecoplant official said. He added that the Export-Import Bank of Korea provided financial support in local currency through loans and guarantees, and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation and KDB Korea Development Bank also actively supported them as lenders, so they were able to sign a financial agreement in a timely manner. The Korea Trade Insurance Corporation and the Export-Import Bank of Korea provided financial support worth about 530 billion won for this project, attracting investment from a number of domestic and foreign financial institutions.
 
In addition to the financial agreement, SK Ecoplant also signed a concession agreement. As a result, it entered the infrastructure PPP business in Western Europe for the first time in Korea by winning the order for the Silver Town Tunnel Project in the UK in 2019, and achieved a splendid feat of advancing into Northern Europe for the first time.
 
The PPP project has the advantage of excellent business feasibility as it can go one step further from the existing EPC-type contract construction and secure operating income through financing and equity participation. In addition, unlike general competitive bidding, it is possible to reduce the risk of profitability deterioration due to excessively low-priced orders by going through a pre-qualification (PQ) that evaluates past project execution experience and design technology competency before the main bidding.
 
Regarding this concession agreement, SK Ecoplant officials emphasized that it is a case of being recognized once again by the governments of advanced European countries for its ability to successfully complete from development to financing and completion of mega infrastructure PPP projects such as the Eurasia Undersea Tunnel and Canakkale Bridge in Turkey. .
 
Park Kyung-il, president of SK Ecoplant, said, “The PPP business in advanced countries is a field that can maximize profitability by reducing financial burden and business risk based on technological prowess and financial capabilities.” I will establish myself as a developer,” he said.
 
 
※Reference: Sotra Expressway Project Overview
In this project, SK Ecoplant formed Sotra Link, an investment consortium with Macquarie Capital (Australia) and Webuild (Italy) and participated in the project. The investment stake in SK Ecoplant is 20%. The Sotra Highway No. 555 project is a project to newly build and improve a 10-km round-trip four-lane road that connects Bergen, Norway's second city, and the nearby Øygarden. Suspension bridges and 4 tunnels with a total length of 4.4 km are included.
After the opening in 2027, Sotralink will operate for 25 years, and it is expected to contribute greatly to resolving the traffic congestion in the Bergen area. The total project cost is about 2.2 trillion won (161 NOK), the largest ever among a single infrastructure project ordered from Norway. SK Ecoplant is in charge of EPC (design, procurement, and construction) by forming a construction consortium with FCC (FCC, Spain) and WeBuild. The construction stake in SK Eco Plant is 30%.

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