Another key issue was the refinancing of senior debt. Due to the financial crisis at the time, the Project Company did not succeed in raising long term debt financing at financial close. As a result, a refinancing was completed in 2016 and new debt was raised for the remainder of the contract period.
De Lijn took the lead in the refinancing, as part of the overall refinancing that it was leading across its portfolio of projects. De Lijn and the Project Company created a working group for the refinancing and hired an external financial advisor. The equity position of De Lijn was particularly beneficial during the refinancing in terms of sharing risk and the project was also joined by a new lender. It took eight months to refinance.