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UK Export Finance has agreed to guarantee a £363m loan to the privately owned Bechtel construction corporation so that it can build a new road between Pojate and Preljina in Serbia.
Bechtel, building the road in joint venture with Turkish contractor Enka, has promised to use British products in the project in return – “to create value worth £126.5m to the UK economy”. What products these might be has yet to be determined.
The announcement was made during this week’s UK government’s global investment summit, hosted by prime minister Boris Johnson in London.
Brendan Bechtel, the billionaire chief executive and chairman of the family firm, said: “This welcome support from UK Export Finance will allow Bechtel, together with our partner Enka, to deliver this transformational infrastructure project using goods and services exported from the UK. At a time of post Covid recovery, this investment in the supply chain will benefit both the UK and Serbian economies and will also enable Bechtel to continue to grow our partnerships in both countries.”
Bechtel Enterprises, the project development and financing arm of Bechtel, supported the Republic of Serbia throughout the financing process together with JP Morgan Chase Bank as mandated lead arranger of the facility.
Keith Hennessey, president of Bechtel Enterprises, said: “This transaction is exemplary of the creative outcomes that can be achieved for our customers when export credit agencies, development finance institutions, international banks, and the supply chain work together.”
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