Five banks have agreed to provide a US$800mn line of credit for the construction of a new metro line in Lima, Peru’s capital.

Of the total, US$290mn are provided by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, while KfW Ipex-Bank, Banco Santander and Société Générale are contributing US$150mn each, and US$60mn comes from Spanish bank ICO. The financing is backed by Italian export credit agency Sace, and benefits from interest rate stabilisation by Simest.

The contract for construction, operation and 35- year maintenance of the Lima metro line was awarded to a consortium of Peruvian, Spanish and Italian companies. The project calls for 35 kilometres of metro line, 35 stations with electromechanical works, and 42 driverless trains, for a total value of US$5.5bn.

The lenders and Sace were assisted by Chadbourne & Parke, Miranda and Clifford Chance as legal advisors, while the sponsors were assisted by DLA Piper and Garrigues on the legal side and Astris Finance on the financing side.