Fluor Corporation announced today that Denver Transit Partners (DTP), a Fluor-led team, reached financial close and received an official notice to proceed from the Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver, Colorado. DTP will design, build, operate, maintain and finance the Eagle P3 commuter rail project (Eagle Project) in the Denver metropolitan area. Fluor will book the project into backlog in the third quarter of 2010.
The notice to proceed was given concurrently with reaching financial close in New York. DTP arranged for $452 million in private financing, including $397.8 million in Private Activity Bonds. DTP’s concession contract includes the six-year design-build phase of the Eagle Project followed by 30-year period of privatized operations and maintenance.
“Fluor is proud to have worked with the RTD and our Denver Transit Partners team members to bring this prestigious project to financial close,” said Patrick Flaherty, head of Fluor’s Infrastructure business. “We now look forward to working closely with the RTD, local businesses, and other stakeholders to complete the construction of the project safely and on time. We will establish a benchmark for rail transit service in the U.S. market.”
The Eagle Project is part of RTD’s FasTracks Plan, a 12-year multi-billion dollar transit expansion program to build and operate new commuter and light rail services and expand transportation offerings throughout the eight-county area. The Eagle Project is a public-private partnership that includes:
- East Corridor: a new 22.8 mile commuter rail line from Union Station to Denver International Airport;
- Gold Line: a new 11.2 mile commuter rail line from Union Station to Wheat Ridge;
- A two mile initial segment of the Northwest Rail Corridor; and
- A new commuter rail maintenance facility.
Fluor’s roles on the project include a 50 percent share of the engineering, procurement, and construction contract; a 33 percent share in the operations & maintenance contract as well as a 10 percent equity share in the concession’s special purpose vehicle that raised the financing to fund the project.
At the financial closing in New York, DTP partner Macquarie Capital conveyed its 90-percent interest to subsidiaries of two international infrastructure investment groups, John Laing plc and Uberior Investments, a unit of Lloyds Banking Group. Led by Fluor, John Laing plc, and Uberior Investments, the DTP team includes a world-class group of transit industry experts including Balfour Beatty Rail, Ames Construction, Hyundai-Rotem USA (Hyundai), Alternative Concepts, Inc. (ACI), Fluor/HDR Global Design Consultants, PBS&J, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Interfleet Technology, Systra, Wabtec and many others.
