ARIFA Recognized with LatinFinance Award for Panama Metro Line 3 Tunnel Financing
Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega is proud to announce that at the annual LatinFinance Project & Infrastructure Finance Awards Dinner in New York on October 1, 2026, the Panama Metro Line 3 Tunnel financing was awarded LatinFinance’s Infrastructure Deal of the Year for Central America. This recognition highlights the groundbreaking nature of the US$1.5 billion receivables purchase facility that ARIFA helped structure to finance the construction of the Metro Line 3 tunnel under the Panama Canal.
ARIFA served as Panamanian counsel to IDB Invest, the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) and a syndicate of major international financial institutions including Citibank, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Deutsche Bank, Santander and BBVA, as indirect purchasers through a special purpose vehicle (SPV). The firm worked closely with Milbank, the purchasers’ U.S. counsel, advising on Panamanian law, regulatory matters, transaction structure, and the complex local processes for the issuance, assignment, and collection of the receivables.
The Line 3 tunnel—currently being constructed by HPH Joint Venture, a consortium led by Hyundai—will be the first tunnel under the Panama Canal and will extend the Panama City metro system to the towns of Chorrera and Arraiján, significantly improving daily commutes for the tens of thousands of Panamanians living in the densely populated suburbs on the western side of the Panama Canal.
The transaction represents an important precedent for infrastructure financing in Panama, featuring an innovative structure consisting of an A/B facility by IDB Invest and commercial banks in addition to two facilities backed by South Korean export credit agencies K‑SURE and KEXIM, and combines CDNO certificates issued by Metro de Panamá, S.A. (MPSA) with a sovereign guarantee from the Republic of Panama, acting through the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Notably, this marked IDB Invest’s first investment in CDNO certificates issued by MPSA, demonstrating how government-backed payment instruments can mobilize international institutional financing for large-scale public infrastructure projects.
The ARIFA team representing IDB Invest, KEXIM, K-SURE and the commercial banks was led by partner Estif Aparicio, with key contributions from partner Cedric Kinschots and associates Jazmín Solís and Joshua Harris.
