Elizabeth River Tunnels Project : Skanska to sell 50% stake for $625m

Swedish construction company Skanska has agreed to sell its 50% stake in Elizabeth River Crossings HoldCo (ERC), the holding company for Elizabeth River Tunnels Project in Virginia, for $625 million to Abertis and Manulife Investment Management.

Abertis is a Spanish toll road company, while Manulife Investment Management is a Canada-based capital market company that is investing on behalf of John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.).

Established by Skanska and the Macquarie Group in 2012, Elizabeth River Crossings is a part of a public-private partnership with the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Details of the Elizabeth River Tunnels Project

The Elizabeth River Crossings project is located between Portsmouth and Norfolk in Hampton Roads. Its purpose was to rehabilitate the existing Downtown and Midtown Tunnels, apart from constructing a new, parallel Midtown Tunnel and also extend the Martin Luther King Freeway to I-264.

Besides, the Elizabeth River Tunnels Project also assumed all tolling, operations, and maintenance of the facilities till the year 2070.

Elizabeth River Tunnels Project in Virginia. Photo courtesy of Andrew Parish/Skanska.

Macquarie Group provided private equity and funding for the Elizabeth River Tunnels Project, while a Skanska-led construction joint venture completed the construction of the new Midtown Tunnel in 2016.

Closing of the sale, which is subject to regulatory approvals, other consents, and meeting of certain conditions, is expected to occur by the end of 2020.

Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets (MIP II) is also expected to divest its 50% managed equity stake in Elizabeth River Tunnels Project by the end of the year.