8 June 2004 – LAWFUEL – The Cologne office of Norton Rose has been appointed to advise the federal and state governments of Germany on the next generation of PPP road projects in Germany. The German Federal Ministry of Transport (BMVBW) is set to structure and implement a procurement procedure for the new road projects, marking a major step in the development of PPP in Germany.
A multi disciplinary team led by Norton Rose will initially act on the procurement procedure and will also be involved with the award procedure for the selected projects and on the negotiation of the concession agreements.
Norton Rose partner Christian Scherer-Leydecker, who is based in the Cologne office, said:
“We are delighted to be representing the government in the awarding and negotiation of such significant projects. These projects could mark the breakthrough of PPP in the German infrastructure sector after the realisation of only two projects over the past ten years. It is clear that it is not only the construction industry which is calling for implementation of these projects as soon as possible, but other sectors are also keen to move ahead with PPP. ”
The initiative aims to award contracts based on the so-called A model. Under the A model, the multilane extension of existing motorway sections as well as their maintenance, operation and financing is assigned to private investors. Legal advice will focus on how to structure and implement the awarding of concessions. Another important issue is the negotiation and handling of risks that may be inherent in the respective contracts.
Norton Rose will act as counsel for the overall co-ordination of the procedure and on all legal issues. Engineering consultants Schüßler-Plan will act in relation to technical issues. Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein will advise on financial aspects, and Schmid & Partner GmbH will be responsible for traffic issues. In addition, multidisciplinary advice is provided by Hans-Wilhelm Alfen, professor for business administration in the construction sector at Bauhaus University in Weimar.
The Norton Rose team is led by infrastructure partner Christian Scherer-Leydecker. Christian is supported by partner Jürgen Werner (public procurement), Martin Krause (public procurement and construction), Thomas Köster (public procurement), partner Dirk Trautmann (project finance), Jürgen Salzwedel (public law), Matthias Toussaint (infrastructure), partner Herbert Wiehe (finance, tax), partner Uwe Hartmann (tax), and London partner Chris Brown (PPP/project finance).
The team at Schüßler-Plan is led by André Fiedler. Hella Prien is leading the team at Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein and Frank Schmid is head of the Schmid & Partner team.
