Tods Murray LLP are pleased to report that our Capital Projects team, led by partner Ross Campbell, acted for Aberdeen Environmental Services Limited (“AES”) (whose shareholders include Kelda, Balfour Beatty and Tyco) in relation to the Stonehaven Wastewater Transfer PFI project which reached financial close in Edinburgh on Thursday 28 June 2007.
Under the Stonehaven Wastewater Transfer PFI project, Scottish Water has engaged AES to design, construct, finance and operate a new wastewater transfer scheme (comprising a chain of six new pumping stations, a screening facility and a 23 kilometre pipeline) to link the sewerage system serving the town of Stonehaven (on the North East coast of Scotland) with the Aberdeen sewerage system. Once completed, the new scheme will enable Stonehaven’s sewage to be pumped northward for treatment at the Nigg wastewater treatment plant (operated by AES under an existing PFI concession with Scottish Water). The main contractor engaged by AES for the design and construction of the new scheme is a joint venture between Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Limited and Earth Tech Engineering Limited. The works are expected to be completed by late Spring 2008, when Grampian Waste Water Services (part of the Kelda Group) will take over the operation and maintenance of the scheme. The project’s finance (£20M) will be provided through a combination of Scottish Water funding, shareholder equity and bank debt provided by a syndicate of three banks (arranged by CIBC World Markets plc).
Tods Murray Partner, Ross Campbell, commented: “The Stonehaven wastewater transfer project represents the largest PFI variation that Scottish Water has instructed to date and was highly complex given that it involved the amendment of an existing suite of PFI documentation and a number of project-specific risk issues.”
AES's other advisers were: Financial - Royal Bank of Canada; Technical - CDG International Ltd and Insurance – Marsh Ltd. Dundas & Wilson CS LLP advised Scottish Water and McGrigors LLP advised the Funders (lead by CIBC).
Financial close of the Stonehaven Wastewater Transfer PFI project was achieved on the same day as financial close was also achieved on one of the largest PFI hospital projects in the UK this year – the £330M Pinderfields & Pontefract Hospitals PFI Project – in which Tods Murray acted for Consort Healthcare.
Ross Campbell