Global Projects RealNews

Global Projects RealNews tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19 2009-06-18T14:41:37Z Movable Type 4.01 City Hall leasing analysis disputed tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3715 2009-06-15T14:28:25Z 2009-06-18T14:41:37Z

boyang Firms spar over figures' reliability

By Jeanette Steele

DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO - San Diego's analysis of the pros and cons of a new City Hall inflates the costs of not building by $21 million or more, a downtown office broker says.

Leasing specialist Irving Hughes, a San Diego firm that has built its business around representing downtown tenants, says the projected office rents in the city-commissioned "hold-steady" analysis are overblown.

]]> Miami's Massive Project Revived tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3717 2009-06-10T14:43:48Z 2009-06-18T14:47:22Z

boyang Much to the relief of Miami officials, the Florida Dept. of Transportation and the Miami Access Tunnel (MAT) consortium have reached agreement on commercial terms for the revived $1-billion Port of Miami Tunnel project.

MAT, led by Paris-based Bouygues Publics Travaux, brought in a new French partner, Meridiam Infrastructure Finance, after its original 90% equity partner, Australia's Babcock & Brown, bailed out late last year. FDOT approved the switch in early May.

]]> Poll: U.S. voters back privatized infrastructure tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3719 2009-06-08T14:48:35Z 2009-06-18T14:55:44Z

boyang By Michael Erman

NEW YORK, June 8 (Reuters) - U.S. voters are increasingly supportive of privatized investment in the country's infrastructure, especially in lieu of tax increases or budget cuts, according to a new poll sponsored by investment banking firm Lazard (LAZ.N).

The poll, the result of interviews with 1,000 likely voters nationwide in May, found that 59.8 percent of those questioned support private investment in public assets like roads, airports or stadiums. That was up from a support level of 52.2 percent last year and 57 percent in 2007.

]]> States need a formal PPP framework tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3701 2009-05-10T03:20:01Z 2009-05-24T03:22:02Z

boyang Governments the world over are increasingly encouraging public-private partnerships (PPPs) to provide infrastructure services that were once exclusively delivered by the public sector. Various multilateral development agencies have emphasised the criticality of a robust framework for the PPP initiative.

Formulating a policy framework that goes on to create an enabling environment while establishing transparent management, financial, and administrative mechanisms is crucial in removing ambiguities and uncertainties about the government’s intention regarding the PPP initiative. A clear policy framework is crucial for mainstreaming PPP programmes to make them acceptable across various arms of the government.

]]> Ports in a storm tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3709 2009-05-08T03:53:39Z 2009-05-24T03:56:15Z

boyang Heavy debts and light volumes test a supposedly stable asset class

ONE by one, the claims made by modern finance have been tested during this crisis and usually found wanting. The merits of infrastructure investment are the latest to come under scrutiny. Infrastructure assets-roads, airports, utilities and the like-are supposed to provide stable if unspectacular long-term returns that are relatively immune to the peaks and troughs of the economic cycle.

That assumption is being tested by the severity of the economic downturn. On May 5th BAA, the main operator of British airports, reported a 10% fall in passenger volumes at its three London airports in the first quarter of the year, on a par with the drop it saw after the terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001. Ports on the west coast of America have suffered huge declines in volumes of container traffic. "Revenue is not as sticky as once thought," says the head of a large infrastructure fund.

]]> Infrastructure investments may become REITs tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3697 2009-05-08T03:15:23Z 2009-05-24T03:17:04Z

boyang By Ilaina Jonas

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Infrastructure investments are likely to qualify as real estate investment trusts (REITs) opening the asset class to retail equity investors, the chief investment officer of J.P. Morgan Asset Management Infrastructure Investments said.

"We're talking three to five years minimum," Mark Weisdorf said of the tax change while speaking on Thursday at the Reuters Infrastructure Summit. "How quickly that evolves depends on the economy and financial system."

]]> Atkinson: Infrastructure Bank No Quick Fix tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3695 2009-05-07T12:56:49Z 2009-05-08T13:03:15Z

boyang President Barack Obama will likely explain his vision for a national infrastructure bank in the detailed budget he plans to release on Thursday, but analysts warn the bank will not be a comprehensive or quick fix for the nation's road and highway problems.

In the proposed budget he released in February, Obama set aside $5 billion in fiscal year 2010 for an entity to "provide direct federal investment" and "foster coordination through state, municipal and private co-investment" in building and repairing the country's physical capital.

]]> Thailand leads talks on Asean infrastructure fund tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3705 2009-05-07T03:31:39Z 2009-05-24T03:33:53Z

boyang By Raphael Minder in Nusa Dua, Indonesia and Tim Johnston,in Bangkok

South-east Asian nations are discussing funnelling some of their $475bn in foreign reserves into a fund to develop regional infrastructure.

Thailand, which holds the rotating presidency of the Association of South East Asian Nations, has taken the lead on the proposal, which Korn Chatikavanij, finance minister, said could be published "in a month or two." Mr Korn said members would benefit by funding much-needed infrastructure projects rather than "routing [their reserves] around other capital markets," most typically the US bond market.

]]> Doing business with the 2012 Olympics: Infrastructure projects tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3703 2009-05-07T03:29:00Z 2009-05-24T03:31:21Z

boyang Glenigan's database shows that the 2012 Olympics have generated £1.8 billion of current and forthcoming construction projects relating to infrastructure.

With networks of rivers, canals, roads and railway lines to contend with, infrastructure is essential to create a unified Olympic site.

]]> Infrastructure sector draws interest tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3699 2009-05-07T03:17:46Z 2009-05-24T03:19:27Z

boyang Niken Prathivi , The Jakarta Post , Nusa Dua, Bali

The Pemalang power plant in Central Java and the Palaci-Bangkuang railway line in Central Kalimantan have attracted the most interest of eight infrastructure projects announced by the government in March.

The National Development Planning Agency's (Bappenas) deputy chairman for infrastructure Deddy S. Priatna said here Tuesday at least 30 investors have submitted expressions of interest in the Pemalang power plant.

]]> $1.4bn bid helps Macquarie's communicationsEric Johnston tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3707 2009-05-05T03:34:41Z 2009-05-24T03:36:41Z

boyang ONE Queen Street East in downtown Toronto might seem a million miles away from 1 Martin Place in Sydney, but links between the tenants of the two landmark office towers run deep.

One houses the giant $C108 billion ($A124 billion) Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the stand-alone investment arm for the government-backed superannuation fund.

]]> China building $315-mln hydropower station in Pamirs tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3683 2009-04-30T02:56:32Z 2009-05-03T02:58:37Z

boyang ATUX, Xinjiang, April 29 (Xinhua) -- China is building a 315-million-U.S.-dollar hydropower station in the Pamirs to improve irrigation, power generation and flood control in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The project, whose construction began Tuesday at 3,300 meters above sea level, will be the first and largest of planned five hydropower stations along the Gez River in the Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture of Kizilsu, said Hou Daiping, vice president of the Guangxi Water Resources and Electric Power Group Co., Ltd.

The total investment will be 2.2 billion yuan, according to Hou.

]]> Flawed Credit Ratings Reap Profits as Regulators Fail Investors tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3681 2009-04-30T02:18:33Z 2009-05-03T02:54:52Z

boyang By David Evans and Caroline Salas

April 29 (Bloomberg) -- Ron Grassi says he thought he had retired five years ago after a 35-year career as a trial lawyer.

Now Grassi, 68, has set up a war room in his Tahoe City, California, home to single-handedly take on Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings. He's sued the three credit rating firms for negligence, fraud and deceit.

]]> World Bank launches new infrastructure funds tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3675 2009-04-25T08:26:22Z 2009-04-28T08:27:45Z

boyang WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank launched two new funds with expected financing of $55 billion over the next three years to try and ensure that infrastructure projects in developing countries do not dry up in the financial crisis.

The bank's Infrastructure Recovery and Assets (INFRA) platform and the Infrastructure Crisis Facility (ICF), managed by the bank's private sector financing arm, the IFC, are expected to focus for a large part on projects in Africa.

]]> Dubai powers infrastructure tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//19.3673 2009-04-25T08:21:19Z 2009-04-28T08:25:07Z

boyang By Saifur Rahman, Business Editor, and Ashfaq Ahmed, Chief Reporter

Dubai: Multi-billion infrastructure projects in Dubai are underway in full gear despite the global economic downturn.

Three major road projects worth Dh2.9 billion were approved by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, according to the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

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