Puerto Rico awards its largest ever road concession

Puerto Rico awarded this week its largest road infrastructure concession to date, for which it will receive a payment of some US$2.85bn.

Governor Pedro Pierluisi announced on Tuesday that the contract to operate four highways had been awarded to Metropistas de Puerto Rico – a subsidiary of Spain’s Abertis.

Metropistas will hold the concession to repair, operate and maintain toll roads PR-52 (San Juan-Ponce), PR-53 (Fajardo-Salinas), PR-66 (Carolina-Río Grande) and PR-20. The PPP contract will be valid for 40 years. 

According to Abertis, the highways total 192km and account for more than 60% of the traffic in the island. PR-52, PR-66 and PR-20 connect the metropolitan area of San Juan, while PR-53 connects the south and east of the territory. The highways registered income of US$153mn during 2022. 

“The highways will be managed through a free flow system that grants the users several advantages with better security, higher capacity, optimizing services and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from users,” the company said in a press release.

In the case of PR-52, the company plans to include dynamic toll lanes to guarantee traffic flow, adjusting tolls according to traffic conditions in real time. 

Abertis added that its shareholders will provide 1.3bn euros to help finance the operation and the acquisition of a project in Houston, Texas. 

“The operation will also be financed with bank debt and cash flow available for the company,” the company adds.

The CEO of Metropistas, Julián Fernandez Rodes, said that 12 banks will provide US$600mn, including Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, First Bank, Oriental Bank and Banesco. 

The transaction will also allow highways and transportation  authority ACT to make bond payments that amount to some US$1.2bn. The rest of the sum received from Abertis will reportedly be used for other road projects in the island.

Metropistas, which was created 12 years ago, also operates the PR-22 and PR-5 routes.

“Under this alliance, Abertis is committed to make investments for US$5.2bn in private capital, including US$2.8bn in an upfront payment to ACT in exchange for the income that the tolls on these highways will generate,” said Pierluisi, according to daily El Nuevo Día. “What we’re doing is replicating the success that we have had with PR-22 and PR-5.”