NIB finances expansion of St. Petersburg airport

NIB has signed a EUR 50 million loan agreement with the consortium Northern Capital Gateway LLC for the construction of a new terminal for international passengers and the refurbishment of the existing domestic terminal of the Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Within the project, both the international and domestic passenger terminals will be united into a single unit that will provide improved services for passengers. The construction is planned to be completed by the end of 2013. As a result of the project, the airport’s capacity is expected to grow to 14 million passengers a year, which is double the amount of passenger traffic in 2009.

“Functional and adequate traffic connections are a prerequisite for St. Petersburg to become a centre of business life in this very important part of the Baltic Sea region. A modern hub will help strengthen the region’s competitiveness,” says Nils E. Emilsson, NIB’s First Vice-President and Head of Lending.

NIB’s loan with a 15-year maturity is part of a structured financing package allocated by a pool of international and Russian lenders, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, the Eurasian Development Bank and Vnesheconombank as well as commercial banks. Debt financing will cover up to 60% of the project’s funding needs, which total EUR 1.19 billion.

The project will be carried out on the basis of a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement between the airport operator JSC Pulkovo Airport, the City of St. Petersburg and the borrower, Northern Capital Gateway LLC, a consortium, which includes VTB Group (Russia), Fraport AG, the owner and operator of the Frankfurt Airport (Germany) and Horizon Air Investments SA (Greece). The project’s financial advisor is VTB Capital.

The Nordic Investment Bank is the common international financial institution of the eight Nordic and Baltic countries. NIB provides long-term financing to the energy, environmental, transport, logistics and communications, and innovation sectors for projects that strengthen competitiveness and enhance the environment. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact

Ms Marjo Harri, Senior Manager Origination, at +358 10 618 0227,