The success in the financing of an infrastructure project, by means of Project Finance, depends on all the parties involved satisfactorily complying with their various contractual obligations under the Project Finance Documentation. Lenders, as well as the other participants, in accordance with the level of risk being assumed and in proportion to the benefits received from the implementation of the project, will undertake the due diligence needed to adequately measure the risks involved. The viability of the Project Finance model, in short, is based on the consistency and efficiency of its network of agreements. Such documents must be structured and negotiated in a consistent manner with the respective legislation applicable in the jurisdictions involved, and be constructed in such a way as to allow full implementation of their respective terms and conditions, notwithstanding the natural complexity of the same, in a form which will satisfactorily identify, mitigate, allocate and allow the adequate management of the various risks involved in the Project Finance.read more »

On July 13th 2010 Brazilian Federal Government launched bidding documents regarding the concession regime and procedures for implementation and operation of the High-Speed Rail (TAV – Trem de Alta Velocidade) that will connect the cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Campinas. The project specifies that the construction, operation, and maintenance will be granted to the consortium that provides the lowest fare for service. The final schedule calls for the railway to be completed by 2017, although the Brazilian Federal Government anticipates the line will be partially open before the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. TAV is worth US 20 billion.read more »

An acceleration of the drilling and construction of the Gotthard Base Tunnel over the past years has left its planners faced with the unusual prospect of the project being completed a year ahead of schedule. Work on the 57 km long railway tunnel through the Swiss alps, the longest in the world, was scheduled to be completed in 2017. However, following faster than anticipated progress in the excavation and construction of the tunnel, the consortium of companies responsible for the second phase of the works, the installation of the railway infrastructure, will propose the possibility of a 2016 hand-over date. read more »

Offer my wife a diamond and you’ll see her eyes sparkle and a warm smile light up her face. I certainly wouldn’t take a gamble on offering her sand instead with a patient explanation that diamonds are actually compressed sand.
The worth of “sands” in Singapore has taken on added dimensions in recent years given the [...] read more »

US$ 22 billion to be invested in these projects in the in the Brazilian railway systemread more »

I am a contractor working on a wastewater project in Eastern Europe, using the FIDIC Yellow Book –Design & Build. Vol.3 of our contract contains the following clause:
“Tests on Completion
The test on completion duration shall be 90 days.
The first 30 days shall be a monitoring period during which the Contractor sets up the operation of [...] read more »

The U.S. has been a staunch supporter of arbitration since 1925, when the U.S. Arbitration Act became law. The Arbitration Act makes arbitration agreements binding and simple to enforce, without significant exception. Rather suddenly, a substantial backlash against mandatory arbitration has appeared on the scene. One of the clearest indicators is the [...] read more »

The principal weapon of the U.S. government to combat corruption in international business dealings is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). To say that the U.S. is now aggressively pursuing FCPA cases is an understatement. In the past year, we have seen billions of dollars of fines, sting operations, and the pursuit of individuals around the world. Here are some of the latest FCPA headlines: read more »

The U.S momentum to build “green” is rapidly gaining popularity, with the office market currently leading the way toward more sustainable structures. The construction industry, including the publishers of form construction contracts, is scrambling to keep up. ConsensusDOCS, a relatively new group of industry organizations that is promoting a family of contract forms [...] read more »

Continuing our last discussion on PPPs in Brazil, we should note that PPP LAW applies to government entities (including mixed-capital companies) directly or indirectly controlled by the Federal Government, States, Federal District and Municipalities. Article 2 of PPP LAW defines PPP as follows: “Public-Private Partnership is an administrative concession contract that may assume the form [...] read more »