First higher education infrastructure project to use public-private partnership in Poland.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Bank Pekao SA on the financing of a public-private partnership project for the modernization of student dormitories at the Medical College of Jagiellonian University. Bank Pekao SA is the sole lender for the investment.

The project is the first in Poland to use public-private partnership financing for the development of infrastructure at an institute of higher learning. Financing of the project, in the form of a capital investment, has been provided by, among others, the Polish Investments for Development company (PIR) under the Polish Investments Programme.

“This is the first PPP project of its kind in the Polish market that, importantly, reached financial close and its significance is also demonstrated by the involvement of Polish Investments for Development,” said MichaÅ‚ Zieniewski, a partner in the Warsaw office of White & Case. “This transaction was a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the qualifications of our PPP project team. We are delighted that we were able to advise our long-standing client Bank Pekao SA in this pioneering project.”

Under the PPP contract, three student dormitories and sports and recreational infrastructure will be renovated, furnished and maintained for the next 25 years. The renovation will be undertaken between 2015-16.  The project is valued at approximately PLN 100 mln. The costs of renovating and maintaining the dormitories will be paid by a special purpose vehicle whose partners will include, besides the majority shareholder PIR, BYPolska Property Development S.A. (Bouygues Group) and Cofely Services sp. z o.o. (GdF Suez Group).

The team was directed by Warsaw partners Tomasz Ostrowski and Michał Zieniewski and included associates Aneta Urban, Maciej Czekański, Grzegorz Jukiel, Marta Godlewska and Michał Oleś.

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