R4 West and East

Belgium

The R4WO project is the comprehensive renewal of the R4 West and East ring road in the north of Ghent, Belgium. It is a transformational public infrastructure initiative commissioned by De Werkvennootschap, as part of the Flemish Government. Designed to significantly improve traffic flow, traffic safety, accessibility, and environmental sustainability, R4WO will reshape one of Flanders’ major road corridors into a future-proof, multimodal and safe infrastructure network.

The R4WO project represents Belgium’s largest road PPP to date as well in geographical scope as in funding need delivered under a long-term DBFM contract between the Flemish Government (via De Werkvennootschap) and the BRAVO4 consortium. The project required the structuring of a debt financing package of more than €1 billion over a multi-decade concession period, placing it at the upper end of European PPP complexity. Financial close was reached mid-2024, supported by a broad group of domestic and international lenders, reflecting strong market confidence in the robustness of the contractual framework and demonstrating the project’s strong governance and strategic alignment across public and private partners. By successfully addressing the combined challenges of exceptional scale, very long duration and urban complexity, the R4WO project exemplifies best practice in modern PPP financing and establishes a benchmark financial structure for large-scale PPP road projects in Belgium and beyond.