Eximbank funds tunnel construction project by SK E&C
The headquarters of the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) on Yeouido in Seoul / Yonhap
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) will provide $250 million (296.7 billion won) in funding for a tunnel construction project by SK Engineering & Construction (SK E&C), the state-run bank said Tuesday.
Under the project, the SK affiliate will build and maintain the Silvertown Tunnel linking Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London to Silvertown.
Eximbank helped a consortium ― including the SK affiliate, Macquarie Capital and Citra ― win the contract by providing the funding.
“The latest achievement is seen as the first exemplary case here in which a Korean construction firm and finance organization successfully won a public-private partnership infrastructure project in a developed country,” an official from the state-owned lender said.
“The project is meaningful in that the Korean company has participated in the higher value-added business in a partnership with the Eximbank, allowing the firm to generate long-term revenue,” said the official.
The bank expressed its strong willingness to offer corporate financing for the consortium in February, after taking into consideration the SK affiliate's expertise in overseas infrastructure projects.
This is not the first time Eximbank has supported the company for its construction and maintenance projects abroad. In 2012, both sides partnered with each other for a tunnel construction project in Turkey.
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