Alexandra Atiya

A new budget signed by Republican Governor John Kasich last week enables the Ohio Department of Transportation to lease the 241-mile toll road to private operators.

The deal was facilitated by Corridor Energy, an asset manager established by principals from Tortoise Capital earlier this year. Corridor targets energy infrastructure assets that can qualify as real estate investment trusts.

Richard Anthony (pictured) and Dana Pawlicki of Evercore Private Funds Group believe that country-specific infrastructure funds or funds with a ‘unique type of sourcing model’ have a better chance on the fundraising trail.

The US Department of Transportation is seeking applications for the third round of TIGER grants, which can support public-private partnerships. Through the grant programme, which originated as part of the 2009 stimulus package, the US has already disbursed $2.1 billion to 126 transportation projects.

The AFL-CIO, a 12 million member federation of labour unions, is leading an initiative to increase both public and private infrastructure investment in the US.

Philadelphia-based advisory firm PFM has launched a new group dedicated to advising state and local governments on PPPs. The group is comprised of PFM consultants as well as consultants from PPP consultancy Scott Balice, which PFM acquired earlier this year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has begun negotiations to sell some of its Australian assets to Canadian infrastructure group ATCO. If those negotiations succeed, Sydney-listed energy investor DUET has agreed to acquire some of those assets from ATCO.

With an estimated C$35bn in investments over the next three years, the programme aims to develop better public transit systems, roads and bridges. Public-private partnerships will have a large role to play in the province's future infrastructure plans.

Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin has proposed a bill that would require more disclosure around lease or sales of public assets and mandate that federal investments be repaid when a transportation project is privatised.

The debt funds have been proposed to help fill a $300bn shortfall in infrastructure spending, and could pave the way for foreign institutional investors to play a greater role in supporting long-term financing for infrastructure projects.