The construction group Vinci, also a highway and airport manager, is entering road concessions in the United States for the first time by finalizing the acquisition of a 14 km toll portion of the Denver ring road ( Colorado) for “around $1.2 billion.”
(AFP / PHILIPPE LOPEZ)
“Vinci Concessions’ first significant acquisition in the United States, this operation is part of the group’s strategy aimed at strengthening its presence in North America,” indicates the French giant in a press release released on Friday.
Vinci has acquired “100% of NWP HoldCo LLC”, a concession company for Northwest Parkway, a “very performing” asset which notably has a “very long residual lease term”.
“With an expiry date of 2106, the Northwest Parkway concession currently has the longest remaining life, 83 years, in the highway sector in the United States,” specifies Vinci.
In the United States, under construction, Vinci Highways has already completed the “Ohio River Bridges” linking Indiana and Kentucky, near Louisville, as part of a public-private partnership.
Furthermore, through its subsidiary ViaPlus, Vinci Highways manages free flow electronic toll services on behalf of the competent public authorities in California and Texas.
In Denver, Vinci Highways intends to “use its expertise to optimize infrastructure management by reinternalizing certain services, to improve the user experience and to make travel times more reliable thanks to levers such as variable tolls” specifies the press release.
Vinci also announced on Wednesday the acquisition of 50.01% of the shares of Edinburgh airport, the first airport in Scotland and the sixth in the United Kingdom, for 1.27 billion pounds sterling, or nearly 1 .5 billion euros. In the United Kingdom, it has held a majority stake in Belfast Airport since 2018 and in London Gatwick Airport since 2019.