China has staked its political credibility on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), but – five years in – it is hitting a wall. Projects are being cancelled and China cannot carry all remaining BRI projects alone. If it is to succeed, the initiative needs international investors to buy-in. But will they? Solomon Teague and Colin Leopold report   The

DIF is understood to be close to finalising an equity investment in the new 35MW Kwinana energy-from-waste (EfW) plant owned by developer Phoenix Energy. Adviser and co-sponsor on the asset, Macquarie Capital, has been seeking a buyer for some time for the project, which looks like being the first household EfW project to reach financial close in Australia. Two

The August edition of the Inframation #Crossroads podcast looks at fundraising, what the funds are looking at and rampant brownfields activity in our LatAm territories.    

A group of private sector Chinese investors have launched a Belt and Road (BnR) Industrial Cooperation Investment Fund focusing on infrastructure and energy projects overseas. China Guangcai International Investment, a conglomerate, formed the fund along with B&R Taiwan Economic Association, as well as a Shanghai-based unit of Central Newsreels and Documentary

Global Infrastructure Partners is aspiring to reach a first close on their latest fund, Global Infrastructure Partners IV (GIP IV), before the end of the 2018 calendar year, multiple sources familiar with the situation told Inframation. The manager launched fundraising for the fund earlier this year with a target of USD 18bn, as previously reported. Inframation

Under an ex-Deutsche Bank president, Cantor Fitzgerald has raided Jefferies and Credit Agricole to create an advisory dream team targeting power and infrastructure. But with no balance sheet of its own, what kind of investment bank adviser is it, asks Colin Leopold Sometime during the middle of 2016, the head of a mid-sized Wall Street brokerage and

A raft of new investors have backed the JP Morgan Infrastructure Investments Fund (IIF) over the past few months, Inframation can reveal.  New commitments have come from the AA Ireland Pension Scheme, Sandooq Al Watan Investments – an Abu Dhabi-based initiative launched by Emirati businessmen to support research projects for the post-oil era, FBD Insurance

Singapore-based David Luboff, an executive director at Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets in Singapore, has resigned to join KKR & Co. Market sources told Inframation's sister title SparkSpread Luboff will head KKR's regional infrastructure effort. Luboff had worked at Macquarie for 19 years. He was a senior member of the infrastructure team

Singapore-based David Luboff, an executive director at Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets in Singapore, has resigned to join KKR & Co. Market sources told Inframation's sister title SparkSpread Luboff will head KKR's regional infrastructure effort. Luboff had worked at Macquarie for 19 years. He was a senior member of the infrastructure team

US-private equity investor BlackRock has placed up to USD 500m in 15-year Project Investment Certificates (CERPIs) on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV), according to public filings.  While BlackRock’s previous two Mexican funds were Capital Development Certificates (CKDs) and thus restricted to investing exclusively inside Mexico, the CERPI vehicle

The Mexican Secretariat of Energy, Sener, disclosed in its website that seven consortia were pre-qualified for the tender process of the Baja California-Sonora 700km transmission line North of the country. The consortiums are: IEnova – Manitoba Iberdrola Sterlite Power Grid – RTE International China Electric Power Equipment and Technology

Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets is set to be anointed the AUD 2.5bn The Infrastructure Fund (TIF)'s new external manager. TIF is also fundraising from existing and new investors to begin investing again in Australian and offshore assets. TIF trustee, Gardior, would not comment on which of the two final candidates it had chosen, but in an

The asset management arm of Munich Re transferred three employees to New York to lead a push into infrastructure debt and equity investing in the Americas, according to sister publication SparkSpread. The unit, MEAG Munich ERGO Asset Management (MEAG), is transferring the employees to its US division MR Infrastructure Inc. They are Rudi Stuetzle, senior

Investment manager InfraRed Capital Partners on Monday (17 September) announced the departure of Ben Loomes as head of infrastructure just over a year after he was appointed.  Ben Loomes will be replaced by InfraRed managing partner James Hall-Smith and director Harry Seekings, who will be co-heads of infrastructure. InfraRed invests in infrastructure

IFM Investors has pledged AUD 5bn (USD 3.5bn) in a market led proposal (MLP) to build the Melbourne Airport rail link from Southern Cross Station in the city. The fund manager is leading a consortium called AirRail Melbourne that said on Sunday (16 September) it will begin construction on the new 27km rail line by 2020, two years earlier than currently

Victoria has called for registrations of interest from private investors along with rail construction firms to help finance the AUD 10bn (USD 7bn) Melbourne Airport rail line. Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan on Wednesday (12 September) launched the “global” registrations of interest process, calling for sponsors,

A pipeline of privately financed rail projects in the UK may be coming down the tracks, starting with the first rail PF2. But doubts around a multi-stage procurement and contractor appetite are growing, as René Lavanchy reports In today’s infrastructure investment market, the appearance of a genuinely new core infrastructure pipeline in a mature

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has shortlisted three groups for seven airport concessions on Hokkaido island, it said on Wednesday (12 September). In its announcement, MLIT said it had accepted three of the four first round bids submitted last month, but declined to provide further details. A local financial

Italian developer Limes Renewable Energy is seeking financial partners for a portfolio of solar projects in Vietnam as it extends its footprint into Southeast Asia, Inframation has learned.  The Milan-based company has identified multiple sites for ground solar PV plants with a designed capacity of 30-110MW each, a source said. It now has access to

Canadian energy conglomerate ATCO has completed the acquisition of a 40% stake in Ultramar’s Neltume Ports for approximately CAD 450m (USD 342.61m) it announced in a 12 September press release. Neltume operates a network of 16 Latin American port terminals and three stevedoring businesses in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, with most of the ports

UK infrastructure fund John Laing Environmental Assets Group (JLEN) is targeting a GBP 50m equity raise through the placing of new shares on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday (12 September). The listed fund has announced the new shares are priced at GBP 1.02 each, with an option to increase the size of the issue if it is oversubscribed. This price

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has issued an RFQ for an advisor to provide preconstruction engineering services on a transit project that could move forward as a P3.   Responses are due on 27 September. The advisor will advise on the Zion area transit from St. George to Springdale project. UDOT is looking at instituting a transit

Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors (FTAI) launched a USD 300m senior secured bond deal on a call earlier today, Inframation has learned. The notes are registered as 144a for life and are due in 2025. Proceeds would be used to repay USD 125m of borrowings under its revolver and for general corporate purposes. Barclays, JP Morgan

Former executives of TIAA-CREF’s infrastructure investment team are poised to launch their own infrastructure fund Upper Bay Infrastructure Partners (UBIP) in the fourth quarter or early next year, Inframation has learned. The mid-market fund has a target between USD 1.25bn and USD 1.5bn. It will be led by Marietta Moshiashvili, former managing director

New South Wales has given a three-week extension for expressions of interest in its latest social housing development pitched at long-term investors. On 1 August the New South Wales government set 25 September as the deadline for its Communities Plus build-to-rent project in Sydney, but on Monday (10 September) extended this to 16 October. The

Eiffage Concessions has selected two banks to finance its recently awarded Reims Events Centre PPP, financial close of which is due in weeks, it is understood. The two lenders, Deutsche Pfandbriefbank (PBB) and La Banque Postale, are expected to each provide half of a circa EUR 66m long term debt package. The two banks are increasingly supporting

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has selected Oakland Corridor Partners (OCP) to develop the I-75 Modernization Project P3, Inframation has learned. The consortium entails AECOM Capital, John Laing, Dan’s Excavating, C.A. Hull, AJAX Paving, and Jay Dee Contractors. The SPV is expecting to reach financial close in November or December,

PowerChina International has secured financing from Standard Bank of South Africa for its first road PPP project in Kenya. The overseas unit of the state-owned engineering company will DBFOM the KES 6.75bn (USD 66m) Lot 32 Roads Annuity Project, which is also known as the Illasit-Njukini-Taveta Road. The Chinese company said the project is being carried

Costa Rica announced an ambitious USD 4.6bn road PPP plan, according to a 6 September press release. The total capex of the projects that it wishes to advance, totals USD 4.6bn and will include at least six highways as PPPs, Inframation understands. The plans form part of Costa Rica’s “Plan for Economic Reactivation” which were presented by

Irish developer Mainstream Renewable Power (MRP) hired KPMG to sell equity stakes in its Chilean renewable platform, Inframation has learned. The platform, Andes Renovables, contains three renewable portfolios, comprising seven wind farms and three solar parks. The first portfolio, with a combined capacity of roughly 550MW, is anticipated to reach

BlackRock has hired Macquarie Capital’s Edward Winter as a managing director in its European energy and power infrastructure team in London, following the departure earlier in the summer of Ed Fidler for Allianz Capital Partners.  Winter previously spent nearly 13 years at Macquarie Capital, including nearly four as a managing director. He served

IFM Investors will rebate 7.5% of its base management fees for the year to June 2018 to LPs, the first time it has done so in six years, as the pressure to deploy funds while cutting fees continues. Chief Executive Brett Himbury announced the move today citing higher than expected returns across most of its asset classes and a desire to cap its gross

I Squared is preparing to sell a 500MW to 700MW portfolio of Asian solar, combined heat and power and utility projects and co-generation projects. Two investment bankers said that they have received requests for proposals to sell the portfolio, but a third source said the portfolio is still under strategic review, pending a final decision to sell. I

ProInversión is expected to hire CAF (The Latin American Development Bank) to carry out supplementary financial and legal studies for the Lake Titicaca waste-water treatment project, Inframation understands. The contract award is to take place at 11:30 Peruvian time (12:30 EST). A source close to the deal stated that Dutch headquartered advisory

Sydney Metro Northwest’s PPP is to tap banks for close to AUD 3bn (USD 2.1bn) in refinancing and for a new facility to partially extend the project, Inframation understands. Several sources familiar with the matter said the Northwest Rapid Transit (NRT) consortium is seeking to refinance about AUD 1.6bn of debt in the Operations Trains and Systems

WPD has received around NTD 195bn worth of bids in a roughly three times over-subscribed loan syndication for its 708MW Yunlin wind farm off the coast of Taiwan. About 10-15 banks among the 30 banks that have signed up to the syndication are expected to be lead underwriters of the NTD 60bn (USD 1.92bn) syndicated loan, a source told Inframation. Among

Dutch asset manager DIF has sold a portfolio of four Canadian solar PV plants held in a mature infrastructure fund, signalling its first exit in North America. The portfolio has been sold to Ullico Inc’s infrastructure investment business, DIF confirmed on Monday (3 September). Ullico, a US insurance and financial services company, meanwhile recently

Antin Infrastructure Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Sølvtrans, a Norwegian operator of boats used in the salmon farming industry, from alternative asset management firm Oaktree Capital Management. Antin and Oaktree, which announced the deal in a joint statement on Monday (3 September), said Sølvtrans has the world’s largest fleet

SNC-Lavalin and ABB have formed a joint venture for the execution of turnkey electrical AC substation projects, the companies announced on 31 August. The joint venture, Linxon, will have an opening order backlog of USD 340m (CAD 440m).   Linxon will undertake turnkey electrical alternating substation projects related to renewable and conventional

Vinci and at least three other infrastructure heavyweights are expected to take part in next year’s sale of a majority stake in Groupe ADP, according to sources. Vinci, which owns 8% of the operator of Paris CDG and Orly airports, is expected to fight hard to win the auction process, which involves the sale under a 70-year concession term of the state’s

Vinci Airports has reached financial close on its acquisition of a portfolio of airports owned by OMERS Infrastructure, giving it full ownership of Belfast International Airport as well as a foothold in the US airport sector. The French investor said on Wednesday (29 August) it has completed the takeover of eight airport assets, following clearance

HICL Infrastructure Company has agreed to sell its stake in the largest desalination plant in the southern hemisphere and its sole Australian asset for around AUD 160.5m (GBP 89m). The London-listed infrastructure investor said on Wednesday (29 August) that it expects to reach financial close next quarter on the sale of its 9.7% interest in the AquaSure

Victoria has announced an AUD 50bn (USD 36.7bn), 90km underground train line circling Melbourne's suburbs and connecting 12 new stations, as well as the planned airport rail link. Premier Daniel Andrews, in the midst of campaigning ahead of a November state election, first announced the Suburban Rail Loop plan on his Facebook page on Tuesday morning

COSCO Shipping Ports(CSP) thinks a “repricing” of overseas port assets is on the cards as it scours Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa for targets.  The Chinese state-owned port operator, which owns the Noatum Port Terminal in Spain and Piraeus Container Terminal in Greece, maintains a “proactive attitude” towards overseas port assets

German development bank KfW and the IDB Invest (previously IIC) are lining up a debt facility for the 100MW Del Bicentenario wind project in Argentina, Inframation has learned. The two lenders are negotiating a roughly USD 100m credit facility for the USD 150m project. Financial close is not likely to occur before October, according to a source briefed. The

Trading house Sumitomo has acquired a 30% stake in a 219 MW wind power project off the coast of Belgium. Sumitomo said Monday (27 August) that Belgian offshore wind power developer Parkwind is developing the project, Northwester2, in the North Sea about 52km off the coast of Belgium (water depth of about 40 meters). A Sumitomo spokesperson said

WPD expects 12-16 banks to participate in the NTD 60bn (USD 1.92bn) syndicated loan for its 708MW Yunlin Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of Taiwan, a company source told Inframation. The source added that the developer has already talked with over 40 banks for the loan and is expecting foreign bank financing to account for a larger share of the syndication

The Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority (JPPHA) rejected an unsolicited proposal from Northwest Parkway LLC to build and operate the Jefferson Parkway. JPPHA is scheduled to release an RFQ for the design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM) of the Jefferson Parkway, the 9.2 final link in the Denver Metropolitan Beltway, in the coming weeks,

Inframation has identified three teams that are lining up to respond to a request for qualifications (RFQ) for the Nova Scotia P3 Highway project. The teams are:   •    ACS, Dragados, Colas, Miller •    Fengate, Vinci, Parsons  •    Dexter Construction    The RFQ was issued in late July. The deadline for qualifications is 30

John Morton has left his role as director of transportation, logistics and infrastructure at Credit Suisseto join Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in New York, Inframation understands.  Morton will be a principal at GIP focusing on transportation infrastructure deals in the Americas region.  A spokesperson for GIP declined to comment and

Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) announced on 21 August that it has acquired a 322MW portfolio of solar assets in Mexico alongside Spanish renewables developer Eosol. MIRA will own 90% and Eosol Invest Mexico Uno will own 10% of the portfolio of operational (67MW), under construction (109MW) and development stage solar plants (146MW).  Construction

Australia’s competition regulator will give its verdict on the Transurban-led consortium’s bid for WestConnex a week earlier than it previously flagged. In a notice released late on Tuesday (21 August), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it had changed the deadline for a decision from 6 September to 30 August to “take

One of China’s biggest builders expects to secure new Portuguese PPP projects in the coming months,Inframation has learnt. China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) is on track to sign “several PPPs” involving civil engineering projects, Zhou Yong, chairman of China State Construction International (CSCI) told this news service.

An ACS-backed entity is lining up a bond worth some USD 170m through a private placement to refinance a transmission line in Peru, sources briefed told Inframation. The notes are expected to carry a long-term tenor that almost extends to the end of the 30-year concession contract and would carry an interest rate in the mid-5% range. Natixis is

Just how damaging and far-reaching could Atlantia’s connection to Italy’s tragic bridge collapse prove to be, ask William Cain and Alessandra Castelli  A stock price decline of 23% in the week since the Genoa Bridge disaster has wiped almost EUR 5bn from Atlantia’s market value. And there’s plenty at stake for the infrastructure specialist

Singapore’s Changi Airports International has made a bid for seven airports on Hokkaido island - one of four bid groups to join the battle for the 30-year concession, according to two sources.    Investors are closely watching the contest to operate a bundle of seven airports in Hokkaido in northern Japan, which includes the nation’s fifth busiest

Jesus Olmos, the former co-head of global infrastructure at KKR in London, has hired a U.S. commodities originator at Morgan Stanley as part of the build out of a new infrastructure fund, according to sister news service SparkSpread. The new hire, Nicole Hildebrand, is set to join Asterion Industrial Partners. Hildebrand, a vice president and nine-year

CVC Capital Partners and DWS – formerly Deutsche Asset Management – have been shortlisted as part of the Euroports sale process ahead of final bids in mid-September, it is understood. Macquarie did not submit an initial bid by the July 19 deadline, while strategic investors including DP World and APM Terminals have shied away from the deal, sources

The Southern Way consortium is understood to be looking at both a US Private Placement as well as bank debt for its AUD 750m (USD 544m) refinancing of the Peninsula Link PPP. The PPP still has 17 years to go on a 25-year concession from the Victorian government. The project reached financial close in February 2010. Several debt market and lender

Sacyr said it has signed two bridge loans worth USD 110m to advance construction of respective road projects in Colombia.   The Spanish builder, through the SPV Concesionaria Vial Montes de María, agreed to a USD 50m bridge facility to fund the Puerta de Hierro – Palmar de Varela y Carreto – Cruz del Viso road. BTG Pactual was a mandated lead