Press Releases 2004

August 2, 2004
Financial close on two new concessions projects in the United Kingdom: Bilfinger Berger to realize medical centers requiring total investment of €100 million

Further strengthening its position in the market for privately financed concession projects in the United Kingdom, Bilfinger Berger has achieved financial close on new medical centers in London and Liverpool. Bilfinger Berger is a lead investor in the consortium which will finance, design, build and operate the facilities over a 27-year period in London, and for 26 years in Liverpool. The two projects will require an initial capital investment of €100 million, with further expansion planned for a later date.

Bilfinger Berger has considerable experience working with the British Government on private-finance initiative projects, with a hospital already in operation in Hull and a second one nearing completion in Gloucester. Using this same financing model, Bilfinger Berger has also realized school buildings in the UK, with three of them now in operation in the English county of Wiltshire and two more being built in the county of Bedfordshire. Recently, a consortium led by Bilfinger Berger was chosen as the preferred bidder for a new privately financed school and community complex in Coventry.

Bilfinger Berger's private sector concession activities are in a long-term expansion phase. The focus is on public buildings and transportation infrastructure, with the UK and Australia currently the most important markets.

Public-private partnerships are becoming increasingly important in Germany, as well. In an effort to encourage PPPs as a way of helping meet Germany's needs for public buildings, the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing has set up a national competence center for this area. Thanks to its extensive knowledge in PPPs, Bilfinger Berger is in an outstanding position to profit from the growing acceptance of this innovative financing model in Germany.