Contrary to received wisdom, the OECD says pensions will have to be coaxed toward long-term investments like infrastructure.
The Portuguese toll road operator, through a joint venture with India’s Feedback Ventures, will take over the operation and maintenance of the Mumbai Sea Link bridge in late March.
The company is studying the possibility of grouping its parking and logistics operations in a single, unlisted unit – Saba Infraestructuras - which could then be sold to institutional investors.
Pension funds need governments to create or remove regulation to help channel more investments into infrastructure, the OECD said in a recent note. At the moment, less than 1% of pension funds worldwide are invested in infrastructure.
The fund manager has closed its first Canadian infrastructure fund a year after reaching first close on C$175m. The fund will target Canadian brownfield and greenfield projects and has already acquired three assets.
In a ‘blow’ to African private equity, Richard Laing will quit the development-focused fund of funds in early 2012 after the completion of a government review of its activities.
The French developer beat competition from Eiffage and VINCI and is now the preferred bidder to build a €600m military headquarters intended to house the nation’s top officials.
The UK government’s attempts to claw back money from PFI contracts recall the lack of commitment that scared the private sector and forced governments to finance infrastructure from their balance sheets for most of the 20th century.
A taskforce will be deployed to examine UK project finance initiative contracts with a view to determining what savings can be made for the public purse. Romford’s Queen’s Hospital will be the first contract to be scrutinised by the team, with findings to be published in the spring.
Spain’s ongoing economic woes, lower than expected traffic and the government’s tendency to change original concession terms are threatening to collapse two of Global Via’s Spanish concessions.
The UK government-owned development finance institution has pledged capital to two funds addressing climate change and energy efficiency in some of the world’s poorest countries.
The European Investment Bank has launched a technical assistance programme to encourage the use of public-private partnerships across nine Mediterranean countries. The bank wants to get the private sector on board to help fund some €300bn in regional infrastructure investments by 2030.
The UK government’s decision to scrap school building projects under the previous Labour government’s Building Schools for the Future programme has been ruled an ‘abuse of power’ by the High Court for its lack of consultation.
Strenuous efforts have been made to devise tailored infrastructure fund models. These efforts are not necessarily being rewarded. Here's why.
The Austrian developer is to lead the rehabilitation and upgrade of 150km of road in Romania. The works form part of the country’s sixth national road rehabilitation programme, which is backed by funding from the European Investment Bank.