Cuatrecasas and Mendoza in $120bn financing for Nuevo Cauca
Cuatrecasas, through its Bogotá office, has advised Nuevo Cauca and sponsors in obtaining short-term financing for COP $120 billion, while Mendoza Abogados has advised Banco BTG Pactual Colombia, as lender, for the construction, rehabilitation, improvement and operation of the 4G Popayán – Santander de Quilichao road corridor project.
Nuevo Cauca, as the concessionaire in charge of executing the project, is formed by Construcción y Administración and Hidalgo Hidalgo (and its subsidiary in Colombia), leading construction companies in Peru and Ecuador that specialize in highly complex technical projects with a high social impact.
The proceeds of the loan will be used to finance a portion of the CAPEX required for the construction of the second roadway and the rehabilitation and improvement of the existing roadway of the 77km corridor, located in the central and northern part of the department of Cauca. This road corridor is crucial for improving mobility and competitiveness in southwestern Colombia, strengthening connectivity with the center of the country and the connection with Ecuador, and boosting the agricultural, commercial, and tourism activities of the region’s communities.
This transaction, closed on July 11 and structured under a more flexible project finance scheme, marks a key milestone for the development of the project, as it will allow Nuevo Cauca to continue advancing with the construction, which is already at a significant stage of progress and expects to deliver the first functional units by 2025.
This is a strategic financing for the development of one of the main road corridors in Colombia, which significantly strengthens the connectivity and competitiveness of the department of Cauca. The transaction also reaffirms the commitment to the development of 4G infrastructure projects in the country.
The in-house lawyers involved in the transaction were María José Assis for Banco BTG Pactual Colombia, and Santiago Rojas Parra for Nuevo Cauca.
Cuatrecasas’ team included partners Manuel Quinche (pictured left) and Natalia Arango (pictured centre), associate Juan Carlos Camacho, junior associate Nicolás Villaneda, and intern Ariana Catalina Fernández. Additionally, the Bonus Banca de Inversión team participated in the structuring of the financing.
Mendoza’s team was led by partner Mateo Mendoza (pictured left) and director María Lucía Amador, together with associates Daniel Restrepo, Natalia Rubio and Anthony Lugo from the Infrastructure, Transportation & Financing practice.
