Friday, December 03, 2004

John Laing Plc announces that it has agreed to purchase a 29.69% shareholding in Gdansk Transport Company (“GTC”), the concession company which is preferred bidder for the €700 m project to design, build, finance and operate the A1 Motorway in Poland.

In August 2004, GTC signed a concession agreement with the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure, and financial close is expected in the near future.   The stake is to be purchased by Laing Roads Limited (a 100% subsidiary of John Laing plc) from Skanska BOT (the 100% subsidiary of the Swedish-based Skanska group) the lead member of the consortium, and from international road developer and operator Intertoll of South Africa.

The A1 project comprises two phases: a 90 km new road from Gdansk to Nowe Marzy in Northern Poland, with a planned 60 km extension to the city of Torun at the southern end of the motorway. Following financial close, construction of phase 1 is expected to begin in 2005, with completion of Phase 1 scheduled for 2008. The concession period extends for 34 years to 2039. The payment mechanism for the project is predominantly availability based, with a minority shadow toll element.

After the transfer of shares to Laing, Skanska BOT will retain a 30% stake in the project, and Intertoll will retain 15%. Polish property developer NDI S.A. will hold the balance. Laing will pay €250k as initial consideration for the 30% stake upon satisfaction of conditions precedent, and Laing’s equity commitment at financial close of Phase 1 will be approximately €11.5m.
Andy Friend, Chief Executive of John Laing plc, said:

“This exciting project represents another significant step forward in the use of PPP in EU Accession State countries. This is our first investment in Poland, an attractive market with extensive long-term infrastructure requirements where further projects are scheduled to be put out to tender in the near future. We are delighted to be once again working with Skanska and Intertoll, with whom we have good working relationships in other markets.”

For further information please contact:

John Laing plc 
Andy Friend, Chief Executive 020 7901 3200
Finsbury Group 
Edward Orlebar / Robin Walker 
 020 7251 3801

Notes to Editors

Notes on John Laing & Laing Roads

• John Laing is the UK’s listed market leader in PPP/ PFI infrastructure projects.  It currently invests in 41 PPP/ PFI projects in the rail, roads and accommodation sectors, 24 of which are fully operational.
• Laing Roads is a major developer, investor and operational manager for a wide range of PPP road, bridge and street lighting projects with a portfolio of 11 projects including: the M40, M6, A130, A55, Sirhowy Enterprise Way and the Severn River Crossing.
• Laing Roads’ growing international portfolio includes Tieyhtiö Nelostie (Finland’s first privately financed infrastructure project) and the E39 road (Norway’s first PPP project), both in partnership with Skanska.
• Background to Polish PPP road projects
• The first PPP project in Poland was the A2 road, from Swiecko at the German border to Konin, 180 km west of Warsaw. This is now operational as a real-toll road.
• Poland has not yet completed any other PPP road projects. The General Directorate of Main Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) has been established, to facilitate the implementation of  the government’s road programme.
• A number of projects are at the pre-approval stage. In December 2003 the Polish government announced its intention to launch for tender two new DBFO highway projects, involving the upgrade and maintenance of Expressway S19 and National Road No. 62. The government is also planning to tender the Strykow-Czestochowa section of the A1 and the Wroclaw-Katowice section of the A4, although it remains unclear whether these two projects will end up as PPP concessions.