“This project is the first public private partnership for Skanska in the US,” said Skanska CEO and president Johan Karlström. “It demonstrates the value that Skanska can provide in developing and investing in critical infrastructure.”
The work is for the Downtown Tunnel/Midtown Tunnel/MLK Extension Project in Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, USA.
Skanska, as part of Elizabeth River Crossings (ERC), is investing up to approximately US$136m including contingent equity. This corresponds to a 50% share of the project company ERC. The total construction contract for the project amounts to about US$1.47bn. Skanska has a 45% share of the contract worth approximately US$661m.
The project involves construction of a new two-lane, 1,700m-long, submerged tunnel as well as maintenance and safety improvements to the existing Midtown Tunnel and an extension of the MLK Freeway. There is also the responsibility for service operations, maintenance, snow removal and incident response in the project area.
Elizabeth River Crossings has full traffic, revenue and toll collection risk for the scheme. Construction will begin immediately and is estimated to be completed by August 2018. The concession period is 58 years. Skanska Infrastructure Development and Macquarie Group are project sponsors and co-investors, with Skanska-Kiewit-Weeks Marine as the design-build construction joint venture.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
