Are Highways the New Utility?

Posted by Sheila Redick on January 22, 2006

With local and state governments in the United States in search of ways to increase revenues without raising taxes or issue bonds, public-private partnerships that convert public infrastructure to revenue-generating assets have become "a hot-ticket investment idea," according to the New York Times.

The powerhouse dealmaker in the field is Macquarie Bank, an Australian concern, that purchased $17 billion worth of global infrastructure assets in 2004 and 2005.  While it is not uncommon to see public-private partnerships for infrastructure in other parts of the world, it is an emerging trend in the U.S. 

During the past 12 months, according to NYT, more than $20 billion worth of private sector proposals have been submitted to transportation departments from Georgia to Oregon.