Abertis Infraestructuras : closes the investment agreements in its toll roads network in Argentina in exchange for the extension of the duration of its concessions

• The Group has closed with the Government of Argentina the two investment agreements of subsidiaries Ausol and GCO announced in 2017 that will allow the extension of both concessions until 2030.
• The agreement involves the recognition of the pending rebalances and includes a global investment plan to improve the current road network for a total amount of ~USD$680Mn (~€584Mn).

The Abertis Group has closed with the Government of Argentina two agreements to extend the concession contracts of both subsidiaries in the country, Autopista del Sol (Ausol) and Grupo Concesionario del Oeste (GCO), in exchange for a global investment plan of a total amount of ~USD$680Mn (~€584Mn).

In 2017, these concessionaries announced the formal initiation of the renegotiation process with the Ministry of Transport of both their respective concession contracts, which implies the recognition of pending rebalances. Under the agreement reached, the Abertis Group will carry out an investment plan to improve the current road network for a total amount of ~USD430Mn (~€369Mn) in the Ausol network and of ~USD250Mn (~€215Mn) in the GCO's. These investments will be financed with the future income of the concession, thanks to the extension of the duration of the current contracts until 2030.

With the closing of this agreements process, Abertis reinforces its commitment to public-private partnerships with the objective to find value-creation solutions for the territories through agreements with the public Administrations -similar to these closed in Argentina- to make new investments in exchange for extensions of the duration of the concessions or through tariff increases.

The Group has reached similar agreements in the majority of its markets, such as France (€750Mn of committed investments), Italy (€1,500Mn), Brazil (€2,000Mn), Chile (€800Mn), Puerto Rico (€125Mn) and, in this case, Argentina (~€584Mn). Moreover, the closing of these agreements demonstrates Abertis' ability to deliver growth within its existing asset base, increasing the company's average portfolio duration.

Abertis in Argentina

Abertis manages Autopistas del Sol S.A. (Ausol), the concessionaire in charge of the construction, maintenance, administration and exploitation of the northern access to the city of Buenos Aires. 95-kilometers long, it is one of the main corridors of the country, which connects the city with the highly populated northern neighborhoods. It also has the concession of General Paz highway, a toll-free section of 24 km-road that surrounds the capital. In the first 3 months of 2018, Ausol registered an Average Daily Traffic (ADT) of 85,612 vehicles, a 1%-increase over the same period in 2017.

Abertis is also present in the country through the concessionaire Grupo Concesionario del Oeste S.A. (GCO), where it controls a 48.6%-stake (57.6% of voting rights). The concessionaire manages the western access to Buenos Aires, a 56-kilometre-long road, which is one of the most important corridors of Argentina, with an ADT of 77,059 vehicles (+3.7%) in the first quarter of the year.

Abertis' business in Argentina generated €55Mn in revenues and €21Mn in EBITDA in the January-March 2018 period.