Holland & Knight Advises Lenders on $120 Million Financing of Colombian Transmission Line

BOGOTÁ (December 30, 2021) – Holland & Knight advised a group of lenders, including Banco Santander, Banco Davivienda and Itaú Corpbanca, on a dual-currency project financing to Energía de Colombia STR S.A.S. E.S.P., a company controlled by Ortiz Construcciones y Proyectos S.A., for the construction of a 23-kilometer transmission line in the region of Atlántico, in northern Colombia. The financial closing took place in December 2021.

The financing consisted of a two-tranche facility with a dollar-denominated tranche of US$50 million provided by Banco Santander and a Colombian-peso denominated tranche of COP$275 billion (US$72 million) provided by Banco Davivienda and Itau Corpbanca.

Ortiz Construcciones y Proyectos S.A. is the Colombian branch of Spanish engineering company Grupo Ortiz. Energía de Colombia STR S.A.S. E.S.P. is concessionaire on the project.

The Atlántico transmission line project is part of the "Plan 5 Caribe" created by Colombia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy to strengthen the country's power transmission and distribution systems.

Partners Norberto Quintana and Juliana Saa led Holland & Knight's representation of the lenders on the financing. They were assisted by Associates Maria De Bedout, Gustavo Rodriguez-Villate and Alberto Vergara, and a team of Holland & Knight attorneys who provided specialized counsel.