Led by Frankfurt-based partners Dr. Tobias Faber and Dr. Alexander Stefan Rieger international law firm Hogan Lovells has advised a consortium of WTE Wassertechnik GmbH and International Financial Advisors Holding K.P.S.C (IFA) as successful bidder for the Umm Al-Hayman wastewater project in Kuwait.
As general contractor, WTE will be responsible for the planning and construction of a sewage treatment plant in particular (contract value equivalent to around EUR 600 million) and - with partners - a sewage network with pumping stations (contract value equivalent to around EUR 950 million). With a construction volume of approximately USD 1.8 billion (excluding financing and operating costs), it is one of the world's largest and most complex water projects.
With a complex financing structure including six international and national banks, the project is also one of the largest public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the Middle East. For the first time, a PPP project in this region and this size has received legal counseling by an international team with German lawyers in the lead. Hogan Lovells' advisory services covered all legal aspects, including project procurement and tendering, structuring, project contracts, project financing, EPC and operator agreements.
Dr. Tobias Faber, who bears the overall legal responsibility for the project, said:
"We are proud that we were able to use our international project and infrastructure expertise to support our important clients WTE and IFA in this project, which is so essential for the State of Kuwait. We could not only rely on our broad technical understanding of such projects, but also on our more than 15 years of experience with complex, often project-financed infrastructure and energy projects in the MENA region".
Dr. Alexander Stefan Rieger led the negotiation of the project agreements; Dr. Carla Luh led the negotiation of the financing agreements. Sohail Barkatali from Hogan Lovells' Dubai office advised on all relevant Middle East topics.