October 2012 Issue

As InfraRed Capital Partners seeks to put itself in the vanguard of opportunities in the US PPP market, the firm is underlining its expertise as a developer. Bryn Jones talks to Andy Thomson about this and other strategic moves.

Projects such as the Bujagali Hydroelectric Dam in Uganda and KivuWatt in Rwanda point the way forward for African countries as they seek to build the infrastructure that will help drive economic growth. Ryan Ketchum explains why.

It’s easy for private capital providers to overlook the motivations and concerns of the public sector. But not if your name is Joseph Aiello. Andy Thomson met with Meridiam Infrastructure’s North America chief executive officer in the firm’s New York office.

Canada, while having suffered some infrastructure fatigue post-Great Recession, is still finding projects to move forward on.

Twenty-twelve has seen America advance as a market for infrastructure. And behind a spate of recent project activity is a larger significance.

Mark Florian, managing director and head of the First Reserve Energy Infrastructure Fund (FREIF) at First Reserve Corporation, outlines the energy infrastructure opportunity in the US.

The shale boom has given a new lift to investors in the energy sector in the US, opening up a wide range of opportunities across the risk-return spectrum. Andy Thomson met with five leading infrastructure professionals in New York to discuss this, as well as guage the latest progress on P3s

The US has not determined how to regulate infrastructure investing, but the SEC will one day have to examine its relationship with the asset class.

While a new system of capital allowances seems to be the infrastructure investor’s best shot at tax relief, there are other tax breaks that could help spur investment.

The UK may be on track to have the G20’s fourth-most-competitive corporation tax regime by 2014. But when it comes to infrastructure, it is the only G20 member not to offer across-the-board tax relief.

The Australian developer has launched an investigation into reporting discrepancies at Abigroup, a construction firm it inherited when it acquired Valemus from Bilfinger Berger.

A new survey of almost 600 business leaders by the CBI and KPMG found unease at the slow rate of progress on infrastructure delivery.

The flight to safety and search for alternatives to low-yielding fixed income is reducing returns for large-cap, core infrastructure assets in developed markets.

Global Infrastructure Partners II and Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners were the beneficiaries of $250m each from the Washington State Investment Board.

Some 114 firms spanning the globe converged on Bogota for the official launch of an 8,000km road concessions programme.

With a second road going bust, the Spanish government and troubled road concessionaires are getting ready to square off in the shadow of a potential EU/IMF bailout.

In 2012, the US pension market is investing in infrastructure in earnest, but direct investing – in addition to manager selection – needs to be a big part of the discussion going forward.

It seems like there have been more false starts in the US P3 market than in the history of the Olympic Games. But is it now genuinely up and running?

IFM is setting up a UK- and European-focused infrastructure debt business led by the former head of Barclays’ London infrastructure team.

Tennessee has invited people aboard a visit to some of the state’s infrastructure hotspots. It has little in common with a topical, 1967 journey.

The London Mayor selects an interesting word to describe his exasperation at alleged government inertia.

Two men who held senior roles connected with the London 2012 Olympics have moved to new infrastructure-related positions – but they make those moves under very different circumstances.