Karanovic & Nikolic was part of a consortium of advisors to the City of Belgrade and the IFC on local law aspects of a PPP project for the landfill remediation and development of a waste treatment facility in the Vinca section of Belgrade.
According to Karanovic & Nikolic, "the Belgrade Secretariat for Environmental Protection, the Beocista Energija company, and the French-Japanese consortium SUEZ Groupе - I-Environment Investments Limited signed a public-private partnership for the financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of the waste management treatment and disposal center in Serbia."
K&N describes the deal, which is valued at EUR 300 million, as "the biggest public-private partnership agreement signed in the region." According to the firm, "the waste management facility in Vinca will be completely sanitized – solving years long environmental problems. After the restructuring and with the new facilities, Vinca will be able to produce thermal heating and electric energy."
The Karanovic & Nikolic legal team was led by Senior Partner Darko Jovanovic and Associate Mina Sreckovic. The team's assistance to the IFC and the City of Belgrade included "a detailed review of the institutional and regulatory framework pertaining to the envisaged transaction, key parties, and associated sectors; a risk allocation exercise; [and] reviewing and/or drafting the transaction documents (PPP agreement, heat take-off, land lease, and other project documents)." In addition, it "assisted in preparing all public procurement documents and the contract award and signing process."
Hogan Lovells UK acted as IFC's international legal advisor.
Editor's Note: After this article was published CEE Legal Matters learned that Wolf Theiss had advised on what the firm referred to as "this landmark Public-Private Partnership which is of vital importance to Serbia." The firm's team was led by Partner Miroslav Stojanovic, assisted by Senior Associate Iskra Lazic and Associate Andjelka Todorovic.
