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The new instrument of the Project Bond Initiative (PBI) developed jointly by the EU and EIB was established with the aim of relaunching and revitalizing the project bond market in Europe, which reached a standstill in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Looking at its funding experience in transactions coming from Western Europe projects achieving the financial close during the initial pilot phase, we try to extract from the available case histories the main features and the best practices that have triggered the success for financing these projects so far.

The empirical European market evidence shows how the project bonds, as an alternative financing solution in certain infrastructure projects, can play an important role.

Project finance in Europe has been negatively impacted by recent events; however, there is widespread opinion on the necessity of relaunching a certain level of investment in European infrastructure.

Project bonds, which can act as a substitute for a conventional term loan bank financing, are surely the best alternative financing solution. We have noticed several recent project finance deals involving project bond funding in the European market, and it is adapting quickly to the changing market situation. From a general perspective, it is important to highlight and examine the advantages and disadvantages comparing a traditional amortizing bank loan versus a project bond funding solution. This is crucial in order to help us illuminate the decision-making process for the best available financing structure solution for prospective projects.