Infrastructure

Garrigues is the benchmark law firm for advice on public and private infrastructure in the countries where we operate, and particularly in Spain and Latin America. We have broad experience in advising public and private entities on complex transactions in different jurisdictions, taking a multidisciplinary approach that covers all angles of business law.

The firm is a leading adviser to public authorities on public procurement and, in particular, on the design of public-private partnership models for the financing and execution of infrastructure projects.

Likewise in the private sector, we are the leading firm in projects for the private financing and execution of infrastructure and we regularly participate in a wide variety of infrastructure asset investments. Our leading position reflects the combined quality and experience of our experts in structured finance (including both bank and non-bank finance, and capital markets) and M&A, and our specialists in public procurement and services.

We advise on a broad spectrum of infrastructure projects: toll roads and highways; airports; railroads, underground systems and trams; car parks; ports; telecommunications; hospitals; infrastructure relating to the integrated water cycle, to energy, to education and sports, and to the justice system, as well as social, logistics and many other infrastructures.

Garrigues’ experience in this area is unique thanks to our know-how garnered from advising the different players involved (public authorities, private investors, construction companies, operators, private equity funds, etc.) on the entire investment and development cycle of infrastructure projects, from design and structuring to construction and start-up, including all aspects relating to financing or placement on the secondary market, and even in distressed and insolvency situations.

Our services

• Advice to granting entities on the design and structuring of infrastructure projects, analyzing the different collaboration models, their strengths and weaknesses, the associated legal and financial risks and, in general, the different legal requirements that help determine the optimum legal and financial structure for development of the project.
• Advice to granting entities on preparing, launching and awarding project tenders, including drafting all necessary contractual documents and resolving any legal queries arising during the process, through the award and formalization of the contract.
• Comprehensive advice to businesses on tender processes for infrastructure projects, assisting bidders from a multidisciplinary perspective on all areas (administrative law, corporate/commercial, contractual matters, etc.), resolving queries and assessing risks, as well as assisting them in preparing, submitting and rectifying their bids and, if successful, in formalizing the contract.
• Advice during the construction of infrastructure projects, to both public and private entities, whether on the steps following formalization of the contract, including the creation of the company tasked with developing the project, or on the drafting and review of the contracts for its construction (under any arrangement, fixed-price construction contracts, open-book contracts, etc.) or at the construction, operating and maintenance stages, all tailored to the type of infrastructure in question.
• Advice on the financing of infrastructure projects using any structure, including project finance and the capital markets (through project bonds or any other financial instruments), advising financial institutions, institutional investors and finance providers on all related aspects.
• Advice to contractors throughout the life of the contract: interpretation of contractual documents, potential penalties and fines, financial adjustments, legal viability of potential modifications to the contract, termination and liquidation phase, etc. We are experts in providing legal assistance to contractors in the administrative and judicial review jurisdictions and, as necessary, the civil jurisdiction.
• Advice on the monetization of infrastructure projects through their offering on the secondary market, through deals for the sale and purchase of the concession holder or, as the case may be, the assignment of rights in the assets, or through refinancing or recapitalization transactions in which the shareholders of the company executing the project obtain a return on the equity contributed.
• Advice on infrastructure project crisis scenarios, providing integral legal assistance in financial restructuring processes using the pre-insolvency and insolvency instruments envisaged in the applicable legislation.
• As applicable, technical, economic and financial assistance in certain cases from our colleagues at G-advisory, Garrigues’ specialist energy and ESG consulting subsidiary.