MADRID, SPAIN – The Western Roads Upgrade continues its winning run, being awarded Global Financial Structure of the Year at the Global PPP of the Year Awards.
The awards, run by international industry publication Partnerships Bulletin, recognise and reward outstanding achievement in public-private partnerships across the globe.
The winners were presented in front of around 500 people at a ceremony in Madrid, as part of the inaugural PPP 2025 Conference.
The unique finance package included full-term bond finance raised via the US Private Placement market, marking Australia’s first greenfield bond financing for a PPP since the GFC.
The judges recognised the finance package was replicable, acting as an exemplar for others.
The A$1.8 billion Western Roads Upgrade public-private partnership comprises priority road upgrades and more than 260 kilometres of road rehabilitation and maintenance across Melbourne’s west for 23 years.
The availability-style public-private partnership is the State of Victoria’s largest single investment in arterial roads to date and is the first of its kind for an arterial road network in Australia.
The Netflow consortium – comprising Plenary Group and Cintra as joint project sponsors and joint SPV managers, Plenary as financial arranger, WBHO Infrastructure as design and construction lead, and Ventia as services contractor – is contracted by the Victorian Government to design, build, finance and maintain the project for 23 years in partnership with Major Road Projects Victoria and VicRoads.
The global recognition follows previous Asia Pacific region recognition in winning Best Financial Structure and Best Road/Bridge/Tunnel Project at the 2018 PPP Awards, as well as awards for Financial Excellence and Advisory Excellence at the National Infrastructure Awards.
