Fitch Ratings: Uncertainty Surrounding 4G Toll Roads Top-Up Payments Has Been “Largely Alleviated”

Fitch Ratings released the following notice about Colombia’s 4G Toll Roads earlier this month:

Fitch Ratings believes the concerns with the final amounts of the top-up payment (DR8) for Colombia’s Fourth Generation (4G) toll roads have largely dissipated. All Fitch-rated Colombian public initiative 4G toll roads have signed or are close to signing agreements with grantor Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura (ANI) to amend their concessions and clarify the discrepancies in the calculation of the top-up payments scheduled in the eighth year.

ANI and the concessionaires agreed there is no measurement of the monthly compliance index prior to the signing of the Act of Termination of each toll road tranche (unidad funcional, UF). In addition, it is not possible to consider those monthly periods in which there is no measurement of the compliance index in calculating of the DR8. Therefore, the compliance index will be calculated based on the indicators effectively measured. It was also agreed that ANI’s obligation to pay the interests generated by the delayed payment of any remaining amounts of the DR8 would be waved, where applicable.

The concessions, of which total or partial DR8 is already due, expect to receive their payments between May and June 2023. Fitch expects the DR8 amount received will be equal or very close to what was originally estimated by the concessionaires and considered in the original projects’ financial models. Fitch will closely monitor the reception of such payments and any other related event. Publicly rated issuers that had or will have concession amendments in connection with this matter include: Fideicomiso P.A. Costera, Fideicomiso P.A. Pacifico Tres, P.A. Autopista Rio Magdalena and Patrimonio Autonomo Union del Sur.