Meridiam reached financial close for its recently acquired Netcity Fibre project and secured EUR 55m debt from senior lenders to refinance and restructure 100% of the existing debt at project level and to finance the further expansion of the Romanian capital’s underground fiber optics and ducts telecommunications network.

Structuring another long term (18 years) and international non-recourse project finance package – which is also tailored for continuous development targets and needs of the project – demonstrates Meridiam’s added value as a partner in essential infrastructure projects. The project will contribute to the development and management of a modern infrastructure, at the highest standards and in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), bringing positive impacts on:

• residents, through safer and improved digital connectivity (SDG #8), flexible access, high availability and quality of the telecommunication services,
• the municipality, with additional revenue to the local budget, a modern and resilient urban infrastructure (SDG #9), and increased control over the infrastructure support for telecommunications
• local telecommunications industry players, improving network robustness and safety (SDG #11), bringing optimal coverage and fast support, and ensuring that this infrastructure best meets the needs of the municipality.

Today, Netcity’s underground network of over 1,760 km[1] covers the main boulevards in Bucharest and connects over 30.000[2] buildings in the city. The network will be under continuous development with the goal of doubling the coverage over the next four years and reaching extensive coverage of Bucharest metropolitan area in the coming years.

Meridiam has a strong and demonstrated experience in the transformational infrastructure and fibre sectors. The firm is currently building comprehensive fiber optic networks in Germany and Austria and developing similar projects in United States of America and Canada.

Sources:

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1 https://net-city.ro/en/

2 https://net-city.ro/en/netcity-coverage/