KPMG, in its role as key financial advisor, helped BESIX and Indaver win a significant deal that will support Aquafin (the leading water treatment company in Flanders) in the construction of a plant that processes sewage sludge located on the ArcelorMittal site in Ghent.
KPMG views this deal with importance for its environmental implications in the region. We served as the exclusive financial advisor to the consortium BESIX (a large Belgian construction company) and Indaver (an vital waste management company) for the funding of the DBFMO (design, build, finance, maintain and operate) project.
KPMG helped develop the financial model that underpins the project, structure the deal’s financing, and ran the funding competition, i.e. attracting debt funding for the project and draft the bid-supporting documents.
Congratulations goes out to the multidisciplinary team, led by KPMG Deals, and supported by KPMG Tax, Legal & Accountants. The project was steered by Jorn De Neve, Partner, Head of Energy & Natural Resources, Ivan Costermans, Director of PPP & Infrastructure and Debt Advisory, Paul Dujardin, Financial Advisor and Mathieu Tahon, Senior Manager Deal Advisory. The team successfully showed how teamwork, expertise and a strong belief in KPMG’s sustainability deliver a winning proposition to our clients.
Our win results from a strong consortium with experience in both sludge treatment and DBFMO contracts. We managed to finance the project at very competitive terms, despite volatile market conditions characterized by uncertainty regarding the impact of inflation on the fixed envelope construction price and rising interest rates.
This multi-company endeavor will further reduce CO2 impact thanks to the green energy that is produced. Aquafin is also planning a large-scale recovery of phosphorus, which is used, among other things, in fertilizers. The contract for the design, construction, financing, and maintenance of the installation has been assigned to the BESIX and Indaver consortium until 2046.
Once operational, the project will process sludge from wastewater treatment in Flanders to generate green electricity. Aquafin, in close cooperation with FINEG, will offtake 100% of the steam that will be fed into the internal steam network of Arcelor. The plant will offtake (part of) the electricity produced.
