Project Profile: Puerto Rico PR-22 and PR-5 Lease
Concession agreement signed June 27, 2011 (40-year lease)
The concession agreement was extended by 10 years on April 21, 2016 in exchange for an additional payment from the concessionaire to the project sponsor of $115 million. The Concessionaire's revenue share was also increased from 50% to 75% of future toll revenues.
PR-22 (also known as the Jose de Diego Expressway) is a 52-mile, 4- and 6-lane toll highway that stretches westward from San Juan to Arecibo along Puerto Rico's northern coast. It is considered part of the U.S. Interstate Highway System as a component of the unsigned Interstate PR-2. The road was constructed over a period of 10 years beginning in 1971 and is the island's most heavily traveled. The journey along the nearest parallel untolled road averages about 45 extra minutes. PR-5 (Rio Hondo Expressway) is a 2.5-mile eastward extension of PR-22 to Puerto Rico's second most populous city (Bayamon) that opened in 2006.
An RFP to lease the two toll roads was issued in June 2010 and a preferred bidder selected one year later. The total $1.436 billion administrative concession will finance, rehabilitate, operate, and maintain the facilities over 40 years. Of that total, $1,080 million is an upfront payment of which about 90% was used to defease all outstanding tax-exempt toll-revenue debt ($902 million), and approximately $350 million will be expended on expected upgrades over the concession period, $56 million of which was spent in the first three years on "accelerated safety improvements."
Two reversible dynamic toll lanes between San Juan and Toa Baja (approximately 10 kilometers) were opened in August 2013 to automobiles during rush hours. Tolls vary by level of traffic congestion.
