Meridiam Infrastructure has announced that it is part of a consortium that recently closed a €773 million ($1.11 billion) concession deal on the Sud-Europe Atlantique High-Speed Railway Line (SEA High-Speed Line) in France.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) reported that it has reached agreement on major business terms with a private entity, Elizabeth River Crossings LLC, for the design, construction, financing, operations and maintenance of the Midtown Tunnel Project in Virginia.

A public consortium comprising CNP Assurances, CDC Infrastructure and France-based Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations has finalized the creation of GDF Suez, a long-term cooperative venture in the natural gas transportation industry in France and Europe.

The $9.5 billion New Mexico Educational Retirement Board (NMERB) has chosen portfolio manager and adviser Caledon Capital Management to manage its infrastructure allocation.

The C$107.5 billion ($112.5 billion) Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) has increased its stakes in two Chilean water utilities, Essbio S.A. and Esval S.A., after making successful bids in recent government-held auctions.

A slew of new reports and papers that cover trends in infrastructure investing have been published recently. They provide a quick overview of the market as well as details of significant changes following the global financial crisis. The following article is a summary of these reports, organized in three sections: 1) an overview of infrastructure; 2) institutional investors and infrastructure; and 3) other reports of note. 

Traditionally, infrastructure investing has been about tapping into the cash flows of assets that keep economies running — power plants, roads, bridges, ports and water facilities — and it is the operations of those assets that can make or break investor expectations. Now that the go-go days of the past few years are gone, a new emphasis on the nuts and bolts of asset management has returned to the forefront of investors’ minds. What should investors look for when deciding who is best suited to manage an infrastructure investment?