The long-awaited break-up of the UK’s biggest airport group began on Wednesday after BAA reached an agreement to sell Gatwick to the owners of London City Airport for £1.5bn. The sale to Global Infrastructure Partners, which was approved late on Tuesday night by the Competition Commission, ends a tortuous process that started a year ago when BAA, a subsidiary of Spain’s Ferrovial infrastructure group, put Gatwick up for sale in an attempt to head off competition concerns about its market dominance. Join discussion...

The trans-London rail link Crossrail has secured £200m in funding from the City of London, closing one of the last gaps in the £16bn infrastructure project's costs. The City of London Corporation has agreed to look for an additional £150m from some of the capital's biggest businesses, of which it has guaranteed £50m Join discussion...

Spain’s Grupo Ferrovial SA has asked for bids for London’s Gatwick airport by Jan. 19 in a sale that could command 2 billion pounds, the Financial Times said. Join discussion...

Building and support services group Carillion (CLLN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) lifted its guidance for 2008 earnings on Wednesday as it benefited from strong trading and a reduction in its tax rate, sending its shares sharply higher. Join discussion...

To many politicians, investing in new public infrastructure is one of the most potent weapons around, as we battle the unravelling consequences of recession and the credit crunch. Building more things creates jobs. Barack Obama thinks his plans to outdo, in scale, Dwight Eisenhower's 1956 federal highways programme and its 43,000 miles of new roads, could save or create 2.5m American jobs. Join discussion...

The multi-billion pound monolith at the heart of the Scottish Government's transport strategy has been slimmed down considerably, with £1.7bn shaved off the original cost estimate and a greater reliance on utilising the existing Forth road bridge. But, to the delight of road groups and concern of environmentalists, ministers have underlined their commitment to the project, expected to cost between £1.72bn and £2.34bn, due to be completed by 2016 and to be toll-free. Join discussion...

Local government’s partnership and project delivery specialist, 4Ps, this week lobbied the World Bank as it tries to reinvigorate interest in private-finance deals during the credit crunch Join discussion...

The Equitix-led consortium which features Bowmer & Kirkland and Derby-based contractor, GF Tomlinson, has beaten off competition from Balfour Beatty to scoop what is its first foray into the BSF market. Join discussion...

The European Investment Bank will part-fund a small number of Building Schools for the Future (BSF) projects to help them through the credit crunch. Join discussion...

The disposal of the second largest UK airport will begin with the issuing of an information memorandum to potential bidders and a timetable for the sale, which is expected to call for first indicative bids in the third week of January. Join discussion...