Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway project achieves Rs25.2bln financial close

KARACHI: United Bank Limited (UBL) on Wednesday said it has arranged Rs25.2 billion syndicated financing for the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) to help part finance construction of the Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway Project (M-9).
“UBL recently signed a document to mark the successful financial close of Rs25.2 billion syndicated term finance facility raised to part finance the Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway Project,” the bank said in a statement.
Wajahat Husain, President UBL, Major General Mohammad Afzal, DG FWO and Shahid Ashraf Tarar, Chairman National Highway Authority signed the document for the financial close at the ceremony held at FWO headquarters in Rawalpindi.
UBL, Pakistan’s second largest bank by deposit, was appointed as the mandated lead advisor and agent bank for the arrangement of the financing by SCORE (Superhighway Construction Operation and Rehabilitation Engineering (Pvt) Limited) – a wholly owned subsidiary of FWO.
State-run National Pakistan of Pakistan and MCB bank are the lead advisors and arrangers, along with other conventional and Islamic syndicate members, including Meezan Bank, Bank Alfalah, Faysal Bank, Askari Bank and Bank of Punjab.
“(Financing) was successfully raised within a record 100 days from the award of the mandate…. (other banks) also played a major role in the financial close,” the bank said.
The Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M9) project has been awarded to FWO for the next 25 years on Built-Operate-Transfer basis. The plan is to convert 136-km long 4-lane Super Highway between Karachi and Hyderabad into a 6-lane controlled-access motorway, which, after completion, will be renamed as M-9.
Total cost is estimated at Rs36 billion and the project is expected to be completed by 2017.
Husain stressed that robust infrastructure, such as roads, is the backbone for the economic development of any country and the bank’s “commitment to this cause in Pakistan is absolute.”

“UBL is at the forefront of the banking sector in Pakistan and will continue to play its due role in the infrastructure development of the country,” Husain was quoted as saying by the statement.
Lieutenant General Khalid Asghar, Engineer-in-Chief FWO, also praised all the organisations involved for their efforts in ensuring the swift financial close.
“The participation of the private sector and financial institutions in the highway sector was a fruitful endeavor for Pakistan and such projects bode well for the socioeconomic development of the country,” Asghar added.