A €160m loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) will help to finance the construction of a 33 km motorway section in Southern Germany. A total of €410m is provided by loans from KfW IPEX-Bank, commercial banks and the EIB. Connecting Pastetten and Heldenstein, the section will be part of the A94 project which, once finished, will improve the traffic flow between the Bavarian capital Munich and the Austrian city of Linz. The 4-lane motorway section will be built on the basis of a public-private partnership between the Free State of Bavaria, represented by the Autobahndirektion Südbayern, and a consortium of three experienced contractors: BAM, Eiffage and Berger Bau. “We are very pleased to be involved in an important German PPP,” says Christian Murach, who is a member of the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank. “This instrument allows making optimal use of private investor liquidity to renew and expand public infrastructure. In Germany, PPP has been used only sporadically until now, whereas in a number of other European countries it is already a frequent, flexible and successful financing option with a proven track record for major public infrastructure projects.” 

The consortium, which will receive EIB financing amounting to roughly 50% of the long-term funding requirement, is responsible not only for designing and building the motorway but also for operating and maintaining it. The maintenance and operation of two adjacent stretches, totalling 44 km, are also part of the 30-year contract. For the Free State of Bavaria this project and procurement structure has the advantage of being more reliable in terms of timing and final costs. The construction is scheduled to start in the coming months and should be completed in the second half of 2019. The 30-year contract covers the operation and maintenance of another 44 km of the motorway. The total project volume mounts up to around 1.1bn.

The completion of the A94 is among the priorities listed in the latest Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan (Bundesverkehrswegeplan). The section included in this project will alleviate traffic on the existing but saturated federal road B12, which reports one of the highest accident rates in Bavaria. Vehicles seeking an alternative often use minor roads, which causes inconvenience and disruption to local inhabitants. The new section is also expected to draw traffic from two motorways running North (via Passau) and South (via Salzburg). Once completed, the A94 will be 30 km shorter than the existing routes, thereby contributing to a significant decrease in CO₂ emissions from long-distance traffic. Furthermore, it will substantially shorten travelling times and reduce transport costs. Berger Bau, a mid-sized construction firm based in Passau with over 2,400 employees, is involved throughout the project cycle in both construction and maintenance of the transport infrastructure.