ACCIONA has reached an agreement to sell its 100% stake in Ruta 160 toll road in Chile to Globalvia.

The consideration amounts to €335 million (US$393 million), including the assumption of €117 million of project debt and €33 million corresponding to the market value of the financial derivatives associated to the debt.

The 90-kilometre highway connects the province of Arauco with Concepción, in southern Chile.

The transaction is part of the ACCIONA Group's strategy of rotating operational assets with the objective of maximizing the return on capital employed, continuing to reduce leverage, and driving new investments.

This transaction is contingent only on authorization by the Chilean competition authorities, which could be obtained in the coming months.

Chile is a strategic country for ACCIONA in its main areas of business: infrastructure and renewable energy.

Through its Infrastructure division, ACCIONA has built major projects in the area of roads, hospitals, hydroelectric plants and mining infrastructure. It also designed, built and operates a large desalination plant for the mining industry in Copiapó and has built wastewater treatment facilities in Valdivia, Osorno, La Ligua and Temuco. In mid-2011, ACCIONA sold the Vespucio Sur and Red Vial Litoral Central toll roads to the Italian Atlantia group.

ACCIONA Energy is one of the main renewable energy operators in Chile, where it has built and operates the largest photovoltaic plant in Latin America, El Romero (246 MW), and also has the Punta Palmeras 45 MW wind farm in the Coquimbo region. In the two most recent auctions, the company was awarded contracts to supply a total of 1,116 GWh; it has 270 MW of wind power projects scheduled for construction in the near future, and a strong pipeline of wind and photovoltaic facilities in development.