Dubai is seeking $2.5 billion in loans to finance a 15-kilometer (9-mile) extension of its above-ground metro line to the World Expo site, according to two people with knowledge of the plan.
Banks submitted proposals this week to the emirate’s department of finance, including a $1.34 billion facility backed by European export credit agencies, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public yet. Lenders also bid for a $1.12 billion unsecured, commercial facility that is guaranteed by the Dubai government, they said.
Funding is expected to be provided mainly by international banks, the people said.
Dubai’s Road & Transport Authority in June awarded a 10.6 billion-dirham ($2.9 billion) metro-rail contract to a consortium including France’s Alstom SA, Spain’s Acciona SA and Turkey’s Gulermak Agir Sanayi Insaat ve Taahhut AS. The project involves extending the line from the Nakheel Harbour and Tower Metro station to the Expo 2020 site located in the south of Dubai.
Bloomberg (21 Sept)
