Maritime Trade and Transport - HWWI

Regional transport infrastructure projects with private equity involvement,
planned or completed since 1985
Fig. 21
Region Number of projects Value in $ bn % share of world
Planned Completed Planned Completed Planned Completed
Europe 334 159 (48%) 268.9 139.0 (52%) 36.7% 38.5%
Asia / Far East 338 140 (41%) 265.5 138.8 (52%) 36.2% 38.4%
North America 252 142 (56%) 123.0 51.5 (42%) 16.8% 14.3%
Latin America / Caribbean 253 124 (49%) 58.5 27.8 (48%) 8.0% 7.7%
Africa / Middle East 50 12 (24%) 17.1 4.3 (25%) 2.3% 1.1%
Europe holds second place. Large-scale projects, supported by legislative changes intended
to foster PPPs, are planned in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany. In Germany alone, toll road
projects worth $6 bn are to be completed by 2009. Five to ten network operator companies are
conceivable, to manage the road infrastructure in Germany. 102 The focus of growth, however,
lies on the EU newcomer countries and candidates, in which there is great potential, but where
very few projects have as yet been realized.
A broad spectrum of forms of cooperation between the state and private investors generally
exists for infrastructure. They range from the formation of public-private enterprises with
majority state holdings, to operator and franchise models, to privatization. Under complete
privatization, the state assigns 100% of its responsibility and authority to private-sector companies
and only uses regulatory measures to ensure competition. This form is rarer in the transport
sector. Public-private partnerships have become popular in recent years. In this type of
cooperation, the planning, construction, financing and operation of an infrastructure facility
are transferred totally or partially to a private partner for a predetermined period of time. After
this period has elapsed, the infrastructure object is returned to the state. 103
Such partnerships may take various forms in regard to the scope of services provided and
the sharing of risk. As a rule, the lower the investment volume, the weaker the influence by the
state. In the worldwide transport sector, operator and franchise models predominate in twothirds
of the contracts that have been made. 104 In this form, financing is managed completely
by the private partner. On the basis of the partnership, the private operator’s credit standing is
often upgraded, making it possible to profit from lower financing costs.
102 See Hochtief (2006). In many countries, however, the legal framework still has to be created or improved
and political objections removed, to enable country-wide and border-crossing holdings by private
investors. An example here is the resistance by the Italian government to the merger between
Autostrade (Italy) and Abertis (Spain) into the world’s largest toll road operator. See BMWA (2004).
103 See Berenberg Private Capital (2006).
104 Road infrastructures worldwide are transferred to private partners 39% through franchise agreements,
26% through so-called build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts. See AECOM Consult (2005).
136 Berenberg Bank · HWWI: Strategy 2030 · No. 4
Source: AECOM Consult (2005).