Lee & Ko won the prestigious IFLR Asian Award (Project Finance Deal of the Year) on March 1, 2007 in Hong Kong for Uijeongbu Light Rail Transit Project (the "Project") and was the only Korean law firm to win any award from IFLR Asian Awards 2007.
Lee & Ko acted as legal counsel to the lenders (Calyon, Kookmin Bank, Korea Development Bank and Standard Chartered First Bank Korea) in connection with the construction and operation of light rail transitfacilities of 10.6 km in length running from Jangan District to Buyong Elementary School in Uijeongbu City.
The Project was implemented under the Act on Private Participation in Infrastructure of Korea (known as "PPI Act") by way of "Build-Transfer-Operate."
The Project was financed by (i) Euro Loan in the aggregate principal amount of EURO132,000,000, (ii) Korean Won Loan in the aggregate principal amount of KRW118,000,000,000 and (iii) Subordinated Korean Won Loan in the aggregate principal amount of KRW51,000,000,000.
The Sponsors of the Project consist of GS Engineering & Construction Corporation, Korea Development Corporation, Hanil Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd., Isu Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd., Unison Co., Ltd., LS Industrial Systems Co., Ltd. and SYSTRA.
The Project will be constructed by GS Engineering & Construction Corporation, Korea Development Corporation, Hanil Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd., Isu Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd., Unison Co., Ltd., LS Industrial Systems Co., Ltd. and Siemens AG.
The Project contains a number of notable features. First, the Project is financed by multi-currency loans under the Euro and Korean Won facilities in which the Borrower has an option to convert Euro loans to Korean Won loans. Further, the due diligence and documentation close were completed within 3-months period which could not have been possible without the relevant parties and advisors' cooperation and dedication of the success of the Project.
In effectuating the complicated but rewarding project as noted above, Lee & Ko continues to stay on top of all new legal and market developments, particularlyin the area of project finance.