Year: 2022

Winner: Rumichaca- Pasto 4G Toll Road

When Sacyr’s concessions unit decided on financing for the Rumichaca-Pasto corridor in
Colombia five years ago, company officials were sure they would be breaking new ground—
figuratively and literally.
Construction of the 83 kilometer toll road, which connects the city of Pasto with the
Colombia’s southern border, was financed with a medium-term finance structure, or a so-called
mini perm loan — the first of its kind for the Andean country.
This year, it refinanced the project with a bond and loan combination, once again rewriting the
rules on what could be done in the Colombian market. The $800 million package wins
Infrastructure Financing of the Year – Andes.
Sacyr Concesiones opted for a hybrid financing comprising a $262 million inflation-linked
bond, two dollar-denominated loans totaling $278 million, and a $260 million loan in local
currency.
Chief Financial Officer Rodrigo Jimenez-Alfaro says when the company first suggested a hybrid
refinancing, some people said they were crazy, just as others were skeptical about the financing
at the construction phase. He says the company was comfortable with the proposal, since with
the highway at 90% completion, the construction risk had been virtually eliminated.
The $262 million ESG bond, denominated in inflation-linked UVR, was also a mould breaker.
It was the largest social bond in Latin America linked to an infrastructure project. It caught the
attention of IDB Invest, which for the first time would act as anchor investor in a local
currency-denominated, 144A/RegS bond.
“It’s good because it allowed us to pave the way for other financings, not just for us but also
for the market,” says Jimenez-Alfaro.
The Rumichaca-Pasto road winds its way through the sinuous terrain of Colombia’s Nariño
department, down to the border with Ecuador. The dual carriageway benefits 500,000 people
living in the area, cut journey times by 2.5 hours and reduced road accidents, Manuel Garcia,
the CFO of Sacyr Concesiones in Colombia.
In addition, on top of the $800 million in financing, Sacyr obtained a $108 million liquidity
facility to smooth out cash flows from the toll road.
Still, the company had to work to sell the refinancing proposal to the large number of
stakeholders, international investors, and the local market, which isn’t familiar with this type
of deal structure, says Garcia. “It was something novel.”

SPONSOR:
Sacyr Concesiones Colombia SAS and Sacyr Concesiones SL (“Sacyr”) and Sudamericana
Integral De Construcciones Sudinco Colombia S.A. and Caneybi Corp. S.A. (“SUDINCO”)
SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS:
Allen & Overy, Ayuela Jiménez Abogados, Baker McKenzie, Bancolombia, Citibank N.A,
Cititrust, Cuatrecasas, Clifford Chance, Credit Agricole, Davivienda, Financiera de Desarrollo
Nacional (FDN), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Goldman Sachs, Hinckley Allen, Holland &
Knight, IDB Invest,Infrata, J.P. Morgan, Latham & Watkins, Marsh, Mazars USA LLP,
Moody’s, MUFG, Noboa, Peña & Torres, Perez Bustamante & Ponce, Philippi Prietocarrizosa
Ferrero D & Uría (PPU), Posse Herrera Ruiz, Standard & Poor’s, Siemens, SMBC, Societe
Generale, Steer, Fiduciaria Bancolombia (Unión del Sur Trustee), Uria Menendez, Unión Para la
Infraestructura (UPI), White & Case, Mazars


All supporting financial institutions and law firms were transmitted to LatinFinance by the
award category winners. For updates please email awards@latinfinance.com