SACE and SIMEST (CDP Group) with BNP Paribas for Prysmian and National Grid: $519 Million for the North Sea Link Project
The world’s longest submarine interconnector
London/Rome/Milan, 16 December 2016 – SACE and SIMEST (Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Group) and BNP Paribas Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) announce the finalisation of export financing of $519 million for National Grid North America, a company of the National Grid Plc Group, the UK’s main electricity and gas utility company, in support of the works and supply orders awarded to Prysmian as part of the international project North Sea Link (“NSN Link”).
The project, which has a total value of €2 billion, involves the construction of a subsea interconnector with a capacity of 1,400 MW between the United Kingdom and Norway. Once completed, it will extend over 730 kilometres becoming the longest infrastructure of its kind in the world.
The credit facility, provided by BNP Paribas CIB (sole structuring bank and agent) and a pool of international banks, is backed by the participation of the two companies that together form the Italian export and internationalisation hub of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Group: it is 90% guaranteed by SACE and benefits from interest rate stabilisation by SIMEST. It is the largest deal ever struck in this sector in Europe with coverage from an export credit agency.
The transaction contributes significantly to the completion of an infrastructure project of strategic importance to the United Kingdom and Norway, which will improve the efficiency of the two countries’ power generation systems and transmission networks, thus increasing their energy security and contributing to the achievement of national emissions targets (COP21).
Through its participation, Prysmian has shown that it can offer utilities and grid operators committed to building strategic infrastructures best-in-class expertise and resources, not only in technical terms with regard to the design, implementation and execution of projects, but also in the process of securing the required financial resources.
