Given the strategic importance of infrastructure and its impact on quality of life — as well as its high capital cost — the provision of infrastructure has traditionally been a government responsibility. However, the budget constraints confronting many national and local governments today suggest that the financing of infrastructure will increasingly move toward private investment and public-private partnerships, offering increasing opportunities for private investors. As such, infrastructure is gaining broad recognition among investors as a distinctive asset class.

From a private investment perspective, economic infrastructure offers a wide range of opportunities across industry subsectors, and presents opportunities for steady revenue flows through user fees, tolling or ticketing. Economic infrastructure assets are generally grouped into transportation assets, utilities and other assets. Transportation assets include toll roads, tunnels, bridges, railways, airports and