Posted on 07/02/2006 1:22:43 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
UPDATE with environment report, financing details, tariffs structure
MADRID (AFX) - A consortium led by Cintra Concesiones Infraestructuras SA said it has signed its first contract to build a section of the Trans-Texas Corridor toll road project in the US and will invest 1.3 bln usd.
In a statement, Cintra said the 50-year concession is to design, construct and operate segments 5 and 6 of the SH 130 motorway between Austin and Seguin.
The consortium is 65 pct controlled by Cintra and 35 pct by local constructor Zachry.
Cintra announced the contract in Dec 2004, and said it expected to develop 6 bln usd of motorway projects over the next five years as part of the project.
The final approval of the contract is subject to environmental approval which may come within 6-8 months, Cintra said.
Financing for the project is yet to be finalized though the constructor is expecting to pay with 20-30 pct of its own funds and 70-80 pct debt.
Cintra added that the tariff scheme for the motorway will be 0.125 usd/mile for light vehicles and 0.50 usd/mile for heavy vehicles in 2006, and will be increased in-line with Texas' GDP per capita each year.
LOL same as 850 billion dollar trade deficits are a sign of wealth. Lets get some Zambians to build our toll roads. Lets get some Chinese and Russian companies to build and operate toll roads here
I used to live in Houston on Memorial Drive in the early 90's. No I am not against toll roads as I used to drive the one that went to Huntsville and always liked it. It wasn't very expensive either. There is one thing about Texas and that is they know how to build roads. Some of the best in the country.
I didn't know that the toll roads in question were to be sold. The Harris County Toll Road Authority made a good decision.
This excerpt sums up the decision not to sell it to private companies.
Monetizing Harris County's toll roads
\ This deal is NOT about Harris County finding a private outfit to operate the toll road system more cheaply. It's about selling off the taxpayers' financial interest in the toll system to a private investor. "Monetizing" the toll road system means finding a way to trade the future cash revenue of our toll road system for cash today. The problem is, no private entity can afford to pay the County what it's really worth. Here's why:
1. The Harris County Toll Road system generated ~$318 million in toll revenue during the last fiscal year. This cash cow currently belongs to Harris County taxpayers. As Harris County tax payers, we are essentially shareholders of HCTRA. We taxpayers already receive the financial benefits from public investments like the Sam Houston Toll Road, and we will for years to come. Some of that revenue is spent servicing HCTRA’s $1.8 billion in debt, and the rest is spent to improve and expand the toll road system.
2. In order for the County to receive up front today as cash the benefit of 30-75 years of future toll revenue -- the "multi-billion dollar windfall" referred to by Judge Robert Eckels -- taxpayers will have to pay a significant premium, either in the form of increased borrowing costs, increased tolls or both.
3. Harris County is already in the business of borrowing against future toll revenue (i.e. floating toll-backed revenue bonds) to get cash today to pay for road projects. As long as the county's bond rating remains investment grade, the county enjoys a lower cost of capital than that of any U.S. for-profit entity (e.g., bank, hedge fund, toll consortium, etc.).
4. An investor, (i.e. Cintra/Zachery) will be interested in this deal based on the profits they expect to be able to extract from the toll roads, which must more than cover the price they pay to Harris County and whomever is providing the capital to purchase the tollroads.
Why give this cash cow to foreigners especiallly since the taxpayer will have to subsidize them?
Welcome to Texas!
Cintra is contracted to implement electronic toll collections.
Maybe you can lend the NJ EZ Pass nightmare experience to the future users of the Trans-Texas Corridor.
Almost since FR began, we've had Libertarians talking about how the government has NO "right" to own roads and how people should be allowed to own them and yes, charge tolls for their roads. And no, I was NOT ones of these people.
Now, we have this.......LOL
We've had EZ-Pass for more than a decade and never have had a single problem with any bill. And since the EZ-PASS is now good all up and down the Easter seaboard and also in Ill., I am NOT talking about just going through such electronic billing tolls in one or even two or three states.
Isn't Harris County opting for a lump sum payout same as lottery winners do who want to squander their fortune in real time? And that a foreign (Spanish) firm is willing to do this for them? I just find it embarrassing as an American to pay any damn foreigner anything for driving a stretch of US highway
if the TTC is not built then what happens to our illegal immigration problem,
BUT, Cintra has not disclosed to the future users of these roads about their electronic toll implementation.
This means, the car gets chipped, database is kept on users, the foreign owned entity gets tracking and auto billing for the users.
Will this database with personal info be kept in the Spain home office? How secure is it? Who will have access?
Not all black and white.
That why libertarians are idiots. I've long seen such ideology and proposals from libertarians. I used to read their moon bat books, so what?
Your failure to give a straight answer is noted. However, since you imply that the "real border" is the problem and that it needs to be fixed, in other words, the TTC has practically nothing to do with illegal immigration.
Spain is not Nigeria.
Gasp! First the Utah Referendum, now this...America is doomed. It's a wonder I can get up in the mornings, smile and be so damned optimistic.
There was a lot of fraud billing with MCI first had the frame-relay sending out data unsecured.
I'm glad you never experienced it.
>>>Spain is not Nigeria.
Please copy and paste where I said this?
We've never had a problem with it. :-)
"Isn't Harris County opting for a lump sum payout same as lottery winners do who want to squander their fortune in real time? And that a foreign (Spanish) firm is willing to do this for them?"
No Harris County decided against selling or leasing.
June 20, 2006, 2:42PM
Harris County's toll roads not for sale
Rejecting the temptation of a multibillion windfall, Harris County Commissioners Court voted unanimously today to continue running the county's lucrative toll road system rather than selling or leasing it to a private entity.
"Now we can erect a sign on the toll roads: 'Not for sale, not for lease,'" said Commissioner Steve Radack, who had never been enthusiastic about the idea, even as the county conducted studies of the leasing and selling options.
I'll bet Cintra was the outfit trying to buy. These toll roads are cash cows and we shouldn't be selling them off.
By BILL MURPHY
Oh yes indeedy, a great wonder! LOL
I gave you a straight answer. And they are linked. Its a four scenario situation. Borders--no borders and TTC-noTTC. Cross link them and you get four different scenarios.
Right now we have no borders and no TTC
Wrong, pal. There waill be 54 open meetings between now and mid August. Why don't you show up, and let them know what you think?
Oh, and you can listen, too, and learn that this is not so ~~scary~~.
Soooooooooooo...now, you are the flip side of the coin, to the Libertarians an d I'm still sane! :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.