Lisbon, October 1st, 2021 – ASCENDI, the second largest motorway operator in Portugal and a key reference in free-flow toll systems, has been awarded the operation of the A69 motorway concession between Toulouse and Castres as part of the consortium led by NGE.
To build this infrastructure, which was declared to be of public interest in July 2018, the consortium will rely on regional companies and create nearly 1,000 local jobs.
The consortium comprised of NGE, Ascendi, and infrastructure funds Quaero and TIIC, will create a dedicated company, ATOSCA, to manage the concession.
The consortium will work closely with government departments, local authorities and elected officials. It will continue consultations with all stakeholders to ensure the success of the project, with the aim of starting work by the end of 2022 and beginning operations in 2025.
Luis Silva Santos, CEO of ASCENDI, said: "This project enshrines ASCENDI's expertise in the design and operation of innovative toll solutions, which is at the heart of our international development strategy."
ABOUT ASCENDI
Ascendi, the second largest private motorway operator in Portugal, manages road infrastructure assets and provides toll collection services. The company holds majority stakes in 6 Portuguese road concessions covering 630 km and as a free-flow toll service provider manages a total of 136 electronic collection points, processing more than 170 million transactions per year.
ABOUT ARDIAN
Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$114 billion managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base. Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world. Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 780 employees working from fifteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). It manages funds on behalf of more than 1,200 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.
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